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Partner description:

CAURIE Micro Finance was established in October 2005 by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Senegal and Caritas Senegal after a long process of institutional transformation which began in 1999.

CAURIE stands for Coopérative Autonome pour le Renforcement des Initiatives Economiques par la Microfinance (Independent Credit Union for the Reinforcement of Economic Initiatives by Microfinance). CAURIE Micro Finance currently operates from six branch offices throughout Senegal, serving approximately 50,000 clients.

A unique lending approach:

The mission of CAURIE Micro Finance is to contribute sustainably and to offer microfinance services adapted to impoverished micro-entrepreneurs, primarily women, based on the principles of ‘credit for the poor’ and on microfinance best practices, all while investing in order to become financially independent.

The program’s philosophy is based on the following guiding principles of “credit for the poor”:

1) Serve the poorest;

2) Link loans to savings;

3) Use collective guarantees;

4) Practice participative management;

5) Invest in order to broaden scope and become autonomous; and

6) Plan for sustainability.

To meet its objective and serve its customers, the institution’s methodology is based on the creation of organized, structured and communally-governed groups called “Bancs Villageois” (literally meaning Village Bench, thus stressing the nature of gathering villagers and distinguishing itself from the more formal term Bank). These groups are made up of an average of 50 self-selected women from local community groups. The “Bancs Villageois” are fundamentally based on the principles of participative management and collective guarantees.

Current customers are for the most part poor women who are micro-entrepreneurs from villages or semi-urbanized towns (peri-urban neighborhoods) and who have difficulty gaining access to financial services in order to develop income-generating businesses. Most customers are women who are either illiterate or who read and write at a very basic level.

Support Caurie MF’s staff by joining their lending team and find clients from Caurie MF who are currently fundraising.