A Microfinance Institution Offers Health Education to Reach New Clients

Projet d’Appui au Développement des Microentreprises, known as PADME, is among the most prominent MFIs in the crowded and competitive Béninois microfinance market. Having experienced unsuccessful results with group loans in rural areas (high PAR and write-offs), PADME worked with Freedom from Hunger under its Microfinance and Health Protection (MAHP) initiative to implement Credit with Education, group-based microfinance and nonformal education delivered by the same credit officer at regular meetings in clients’ communities. The goal was to combine a more systematic group loan and meeting methodology (to reinforce discipline and solidarity as well as improve repayment) with value-added education (to enable greater outreach to the poor, enhance PADME’s image and contribute to the social mission). PADME introduced health education using the Credit with Education methodology in October 2007, with health topics that included malaria, childhood illness and HIV/AIDS. PADME’s health protection service package also included a small-scale insecticide-treated mosquito net distribution.