SPECIAL REPORT: Using SAM to Align Financing Needs, Social Impact in Mozambique

When Francisco Cuamba, Microbanco Confianca Francisco Cuamba, the Finance Director of Mozambique’s Microbanco Confianca (pictured at left), came to Luxembourg for European Microfinance Week in November, he was very pleased to win a free registration to the 2019 SAM, which will be held in late October in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Reflecting on the 2017 SAM in Ethiopia, he said, “My participation in SAM was an extremely important opportunity to meet different organizations from all over the world to share different experiences and meet some investors to which to present my organization…. The type of investors we sign should be social investors that are not only concerned with the profitability of the investment, but also our extensive involvement in the development of our community and changing lives.” In particular, Mr Cuamba expressed plans to learn more about SPI4, the fourth iteration of a set of social performance indicators (SPIs) intended to simplify reporting and provide a common language for social performance management. The 2017 SAM included a full-day training on SPI4, and similar opportunities are expected at the 2019 SAM, the agenda of which is currently under development.

Microbanco Confianca was created by the NGO Hluvuku-Adsema, which was formed in 1996. The institution now has 13 branch locations, 87 employees and 9,120 clients. With a loan portfolio equivalent to USD 3.5 million, it generated return on equity of 17 percent and return on assets of 9.1 percent during 2017. The majority of the staff and clients of the organization are women. The creation of Microbanco Confianca, which remains owned by Hluvuku, will allow the institution to accept deposits.

ADA, an NGO based in Luxembourg, co-organizes SAM every two years with the support of Luxembourg’s Ministry for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs. The SAM steering committee members are: ADA, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Microfinance African Institutions Network, the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association and the Fédération des APSFD de l’Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine. We invite you to read more about SAM at http://www.microfinance-africa.org/.

This vignette is part of a sponsored series demonstrating the value of SAM (the French acronym for African Microfinance Week), a major conference dedicated to financial inclusion in Africa. The first three SAMs were held in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2013; Dakar, Senegal, in 2015; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2017. The next SAM will take place in late October 2019 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso!

The goal of SAM is to provide a unified platform for addressing issues facing microfinance in Africa by bringing together investors, MFIs, researchers, banks, networks, innovators, governments and other stakeholders.

The 2017 SAM hosted 700 participants from 58 (mostly African) countries, including representatives of 200 MFIs; 25 exhibitors at the Innovation Fair; and 26 investors, who made 170 MFI contacts at the Investor’s Fair. The proceedings also included conference sessions presented by 60 speakers plus a menu of 20 training programs.

Additional Resources

Growing Enterprises in Kenya from Micro- to Small to Medium-sized, With Help from SAM
https://www.microcapital.org/special-report-growing-enterprises-in-kenya-from-micro-to-small-to-medium-sized-with-help-from-sam/

How Paidek Has Leveraged the SAM Conference to Diversify Its Funding Sources and Microfinance Product Line-up
https://www.microcapital.org/special-report-how-paidek-has-leveraged-the-sam-conference-to-diversify-its-funding-sources-and-microfinance-product-line-up/

How Oikocredit Leveraged SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) to Expand Its Risk-management Program
https://www.microcapital.org/special-report-how-oikocredit-leveraged-sam-semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance-to-expand-its-risk-management-program/

SAM
http://www.microfinance-africa.org/

MicroCapital coverage of SAM
http://www.microcapital.org/category/semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance-sam/

SPI4
https://cerise-spm.org/en/spi4/