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Fin’Elle

FMO: Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank

Fin’Elle

FMO: Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank

FMO has partnered with the Alliance for Entrepreneurship by putting Fin’Elle on the platform to share lessons, build partnerships and mobilize financing.

Fin’Elle, La Finance pour Elle, is a young microfinance institution founded in 2007 and based in Côte d’Ivoire, whose mission is to create added value for women entrepreneurship and participate sustainably in their financial and social emancipation. Fin’Elle is majority-owned by the COFINA Group, which bought a 70% stake mid-2018 turning it from a marginal player with insignificant market share to one of the top 10 MFIs in the country.

Project Details

While more than 70% of African women face numerous barriers in terms of access to financial services or simply do not have access to them, Fin’ELLE aims to increase the proportion of eligible women and to increase the volume of loans allocated to them. To date, Fin’ELLE has been able to support more than 7,000 women clients, offering them products tailored to their needs in terms of pricing, insurance and skill building.

Fin’Elle is providing more than 14,000 customers with services such as deposits, loans, insurance, and training. It is a subsidiary of Groupe Cofina, which was founded in 2014 and focuses on “mesofinance” loans, those that are larger than microfinance loans but smaller than traditional bank loans. Groupe Cofina is active in France and eight African countries with 90 branches employing 1,300 people. In addition to microbanks, the members of Groupe Cofina include a business incubator called Startup House and Cash Deal, which offers loans based on collateral such as gold, real estate and vehicles.

Anticipated Impact

The Program is designed to support (women led) MSMEs by:

  • Improving access to finance: Fin’Elle’s microfinance services make funding more accessible to women entrepreneurs, who often face more significant barriers when accessing traditional financing.
  • Increasing capability building: Fin’Elle and Groupe Cofina provide training and mentoring to help female entrepreneurs hone their skills and better prepare for business. This can positively affect the success of (women-led) MSMEs, as they will be better equipped with the information and abilities needed to grow their businesses.
  • Insurance Solutions: Fin’Elle has insurance products tailored specifically to small businesses, which helps to provide peace of mind and security for (women-led) MSMEs. This can give them the confidence to invest in growth, as they know they will be protected if they experience any losses.
  • Increasing opportunity in underserved areas: By opening branches in underserved areas, Fin’Elle provides entrepreneurs with access to finance without needing to relocate. This can help to stimulate local economies and open opportunities for (women-led) MSMEs in previously underserved areas.
Support/Partnership Required

It is expected that this proposed facility will be implemented with the Core Members of the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa. The Alliance will provide an opportunity for its Core Members jointly with IFC to scale up the trade finance guarantee delivery mechanism and facilitate more trade