On Friday October 19, 2018 FPM, Financial Inclusion Fund in DR Congo organized in its heardquarters, the signing ceremony of the partnership contract with the microfinance institution FINCA RD CONGO SA.

From left to right : Jean Claude THETIKA, FPM ASBL CEO and Mamie KALONDA, FINCA RD CONGO SA CEO

In the context of its mission, which is part of the national policy and strategy for financial inclusion through support for microfinance in the Democratic Republic of Congo, FPM contributes to poverty alleviation in the DRC by promoting the development of a sustainable offer of financial services accessible to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and low-income households.

To achieve this, FPM relies on financial institutions, to whom it provides technical assistance and refinancing. Through technical assistance, FPM’s interventions revolve around the following axes:

• Direct technical assistance (for the benefit of partner financial institutions);
• Forums and trainings;
• Market studies.

It is within the framework of direct technical assistance that FPM has been supporting the FINCA RD CONGO SA since 2014 in the following domains:

• Support for the opening of new branches (Mbuji-Mayi and Kisangani) thanks to market studies and financial support;
• Improving the supply of credit to small businesses through the development of the MSME department;
• Automation of the credit process in order to reduce operational costs in order to ultimately lower the cost of access to credit for FINCA customers;
• Improvement of the institution’s operational risk management process;
• Development of innovative products through digital finance.

For this new partnership, the of FPM’s intervention aims to support the development of the newly created digital finance product, in order to strengthen the of FINCA’s presence in the country. The overall budget for this intervention is around 400,000 USD (US $ 400,000).

Strongly established in the DRC for more than 15 years, FINCA RD CONGO SA has been a significant partner of FPM since June 2014. As a leader in the microfinance sector in the DRC and pioneer of remote banking through its wide network of banking agents, FINCA has already benefited from four intervention plans and a refinancing line of FPM. The institution currently has 21 branches and more than 1,200 FINCA eXpress service points across the country.