The Managing Director of the National Microfinance Fund (FNM), Louis BIAO unveiled during a press conference, some results of the Alafia Microcredit program. As of March 17, 2023, more than 22,079,144,985 FCFA have been disbursed for the benefit of 423,770 beneficiaries.
For the past few days, scammers pretending to be intermediaries from the Microcredit Alafia program have been cheating the peaceful populations. Informed of the situation, the director general of the FNM in addition to a press release, organized a joint press conference with the director general of the National Agency for the Surveillance of Decentralized Financial Systems (ANSSFD). Louis BIAO castigated during the meeting with the media, the behavior of malicious people, and sometimes of illegal structures which pose as intermediaries of the National Microfinance Fund, and offer women once morest payment of exorbitant fees for files, Alafia Microcredit granting services. The recent case is that of “CONSOLAT-BENIN”, he informed. This structure, according to the director, has set up a system for collecting savings from the public in order to grant its customers Experimental Financial Support (ranging from 200,000 FCFA to 5,000,000 FCFA) and Microcredit Alafia (ranging from 50,000 FCFA to 100,000 FCFA)”.
The FNM, thanks to its alert system and the support of the Republican police, had already got hold of certain people involved who will answer for their actions in court, informed the director. He cited on occasion, the Decentralized Financial Systems, the only approved intermediaries, and partners of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance within the framework of the implementation of Microcredit Alafia. These are ALIDE, PADME, FINADEV, PEBCO-BETHESDA, SIA N’SON, Le DEFI, MODEC, MSFP, MDB, IAMD-Microfinance, COMUBA, AFRICA-FINANCES, CESCA, CFAD.
The CEO of the FNM recalled during the meeting with the media, the conditions for benefiting from the “Microcredit Alafia”. It is a question of having an identity document: National Identity Card or Personal Identification Certificate (CIP); have an MTN mobile Money or MOOV Money account registered in the name of the beneficiary; and be a member of a solidarity surety group (group of 03 or 05 people). “The amount of loans granted per beneficiary is between 30,000 and 100,000 CFA francs maximum. Apart from the application and training costs amounting to 400 CFA francs and insurance costs of between 360, 600 and 1,200 CFA francs for the respective credits of 30,000, 50,000 and 100,000 CFA francs, no further costs are demanded”, explained Louis BIAO urging the public to be vigilant and to report any attempted fraud to the General Management of the FNM on 21 30 05 18 or by calling the freephone number 7320.
The results recorded under the Microcredit Alafia program were presented to the public. According to the CEO of the FNM, more than 22,079,144,985 FCFA were disbursed for the benefit of 423,770 beneficiaries.
F. A. A.
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March 24, 2023 by F. Aubin Ahéhéhinnou,
Ignace B. Fanou