For those documents that are not available for download in PDF, please contact the Social Finance Programme secretariat for a copy: SFP@ilo.org

WP 7: Pratiques bancaires dans les opérations de crédit avec les petites et moyennes entreprises en Afrique de l’Ouest, B. Balkenhol, C. Lecointre, 1994.

Ce document présente les résultats d'une enquête menée en 1987 auprès de 35 banques et établissements financiers en Afrique de l'Ouest. Le défi est d’assurer l'adéquation entre besoins de financement des PME et l’offre de services financiers du côté du système bancaire. Les modalités d'un tel rapprochement seraient soit l'assouplissement de procédures internes des banques, soit encore la création ou le développement de structures intermédiaires pour réduire les coûts de transaction et les risques, soit enfin une amélioration générale de la qualité de gestion des PME ou bien des politiques visant l'entrepreneuriat africain.

WP 9: Monitoring guidelines for semi-formal financial institutions active in small enterprise finance, Bert Wesselink, 1997.

Semi-formal financial institutions (SFIs) have increasingly become involved in the financing of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). SFIs are unregulated but legal financial entities operating in the semi-formal financial sector which can be divided into membership-based Self-Help Organizations (SHOs) and outside assistance-based Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). SHOs are indigenous private institutions which finance activities in poor communities with funds mobilized in the community itself. Examples of membership-based SHOs are local community banks, credit unions, and loan and savings cooperatives and associations. Generally, SHOs are fully engaged in financial intermediation by raising member deposits and transforming them into member loans. NGOs, however, often only distribute and collect loans. Usually, NGOs generate their funds from outside donors or governments, making themselves more dependent from outside priorities and availability of funds. The guide shows the large variety of indicators used for controlling the performance of financial services delivery in an effective way. The capability for monitoring and evaluation should be increased gradually, widening coverage and building it up one step at a time.