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MEC Delta
Approved to post Kiva loans from: Senegal
Status update - March 9, 2015 Kiva and MEC Delta have ended their partnership. Over the course of the 12-month partnership, MEC Delta made $39,225 in loans and repaid these loans to Kiva lenders in full. We thank MEC Delta for their collaboration and wish the organization the best as it continues to serve its members in Northern Senegal.
Original Partner Description The Mutuelle d’Épargne et de Crédit du Delta (MEC Delta) is a member-owned, nonprofit microfinance institution serving residents of the Upper Senegal River Delta region, an arid, underserved zone on Senegal's Northern frontier.
MEC Delta was originally launched in 1993 as a reaction to the exclusion of young people and women from government-funded rural financing schemes, and became a licensed microfinance institution in 2003. Founded with only 70 members and $700 in startup capital, the institution has worked to professionalize and innovate in the underserved Senegal River delta region while remaining focused on its social mission. Among the many challenges MEC Delta has faced is a bird plague which decimated rice crops and farmer incomes in its operating area in 2005. Today, MEC Delta serves over 7,000 members, providing holistic services to boost agricultural production and household incomes. Toward this end, MEC Delta provides loans for agricultural inputs, loans for investment in agricultural equipment, microenterprise loans, housing loans, express loans and consumption loans.
MEC Delta will raise funds on Kiva's platform to support two types of loans: agricultural loans and microenterprise loans for the handicapped. MEC Delta's flagship loan product, the Country (agricultural) loan product is well-adapted to the needs of rice farmers in MEC Delta's operating areas. The loan is disbursed in the form of agricultural inputs (seeds and fertilizers). The price for the farmer's rice is fixed at the time of disbursement, and the farmer then repays with rice, which MEC Delta's sister organization, Delta Grisol, brings to market. Thus, MEC Delta members' incomes are protected from fluctuations in rice prices, and all members benefit from negotiating together to get better prices for their crops. With Kiva lenders' capital, MEC Delta will also create a new loan product targeting handicapped people in its operating areas. With financial support, MEC Delta hopes to allow these new clients to launch income-generating activities and live more independently.