Yikri, a microfinance institution from Burkina Faso, has emerged winner of this year’s €100 000 European Microfinance Award.
The award was launched in October 2005 by the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to nurture innovative microfinance initiatives.
It is jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe) and the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP).
Yikri won the prestigious award for its commitment to addressing the complex challenges of food security and nutrition in Burkina Faso. The other two finalists were Kenya’s Fortune Credit Ltd and Guatemala’s Fundación Génesis Empresarial.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg presented the award to the bank on Thursday at a ceremony held at the EIB office in Luxembourg.
About Yikri:
Supported by Entrepreneurs du Monde, Yikri champions social microfinance for poverty alleviation. It stands out for its financial products and support services specifically designed for the most vulnerable groups, particularly women, forcibly displaced people, rural smallholders and young people.
Burkina Faso has some of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world, and must adapt its agricultural model to climate change risks to tackle this challenge.
To help smallholder farmers with this transition, the Tikri offers an agricultural loan without a guarantee and adapts its credit to harvest cycles, together with support from technical advisors with agricultural expertise.
In addition, Yikri’s social worker team identifies the families most affected by malnutrition (particularly in disadvantaged parts of Ouagadougou) and directs them to associations organising subsidised milk distribution programmes.
The bank currently helps almost 40 000 people. It has seen that over an average support period of three years, the number of its beneficiaries in extreme poverty is cut in half while their monthly net income is doubled.
What they said:
In her remarks at the presentation ceremony, the Grand Jury President, HRH Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg said: “The innovative and ambitious solutions brought forth by our finalists have the potential to break the vicious cycle of hunger and poverty. I certainly hope that they will inspire others to follow their example”.
The President of EIB, Werner Hoyer said: “We all know that development needs around the world are enormous. We must leverage ingenuity, innovation, and models that can make a difference and deliver real impact. Microfinance is a great tool for this, as the examples presented during European Microfinance Week and at the Microfinance Award show”.
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