Wakiré

According to the latest World Bank estimates for the year 2021, the population of Burkina Faso is approximately 21.5 million. Only about 16% of the adult population had access to a formal bank account. This figure is much lower for rural populations and women, who are often excluded from the formal financial system due to their low level of education and geographical distance from financial institutions. This shows that there is still a lot of work to be done to foster financial inclusion in Burkina Faso.

The issue of financial inclusion in Burkina Faso is a major challenge for the economic and social development of the country. Despite the progress made in recent years, a large part of the population remains excluded from the formal financial system, with negative consequences on their standard of living and their access to essential services such as education, health and housing.

The main challenges to financial inclusion in Burkina Faso include the low rate of bancarisation, the lack of access to financial services for rural populations and women, and the high cost of financial transactions for small businesses and informal workers. In addition, illiteracy and mistrust of financial institutions can also be barriers to financial inclusion.

To address these challenges, the government of Burkina Faso has put in place policies and programmes to encourage the opening of bank accounts, the creation of credit unions and the extension of financial services to rural areas. Initiatives have also been taken to strengthen financial regulation and promote financial education for the poor.

However, to ensure genuine and sustainable financial inclusion, it is crucial to continue these efforts, taking into account local specificities and involving stakeholders, including financial institutions, NGOs, local communities and regional and national authorities.

Warrantage is a financing technique that involves using crops as collateral to obtain credit from a financial institution. This technique allows farmers to store their crops and use them as collateral to obtain credit that will allow them to finance their activity until the next harvest. In Burkina Faso, warrantage has been used successfully for several years to give small farmers access to finance at reasonable rates.

Tontine, on the other hand, is a collective savings technique. Members of a group (usually 10 to 20 people) contribute regularly to a common fund. Each month, one member is designated to receive the entire fund. This technique provides group members with an easily accessible source of savings and credit. Tontines are very popular in West Africa, including Burkina Faso, where they are often used to finance community projects or individual investments.
Both of these technology-enabled techniques have important advantages for promoting financial inclusion. They provide access to finance at reasonable rates without the need for costly collateral. They also promote savings and fundraising for collective or individual projects.

However, it is important to note that these techniques also have limitations. Warrantage can be limited by the quality of crops and price fluctuations in the market. Tontines can be confronted with risks of fraud or conflicts between group members. It is therefore important to put in place regulatory and supervisory measures to ensure the security of transactions.

In summary, warrantage and tontine are interesting solutions to foster financial inclusion in Burkina Faso. They can help provide finance at reasonable rates, promote savings and finance collective or individual projects. However, these techniques need to be used with caution and accompanied by regulatory and supervisory measures to ensure their effectiveness and security.

The WAKIRé project in rural Burkina Faso targets several population groups, including farmers, herders, artisans, small traders, informal workers and women. These groups are often excluded from the formal financial system and have specific financial needs that are not met by traditional banks.

To address these needs, the Wakiré project will include services such as savings accounts, agricultural loans, mobile money transfers, insurance, payment services and financial advisory services. 
The impact of the Wakiré project can be significant for the populations concerned. By providing accessible financial services tailored to their needs, Wakiré can help improve food security, stimulate local economic growth, reduce poverty and build resilience to economic and climate shocks. For example, access to agricultural loans can help farmers buy seeds and fertilisers, thereby increasing their production and income. Mobile money transfers can facilitate business transactions and remittances between family members who work in the city. Savings accounts can help rural people build up a financial reserve to meet unexpected expenses, such as health care or housing repairs.

The Association African Solidarité (AAS) is a non-governmental organisation of volunteers for development, created in 1991 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and governed by the receipts N° 93-143 MAT/DGAT/DLPJ of 22-10-1993 and N° 95-013 PAT/DGAT/DLPJ of 24-01-1995. N00000113101 of 22/02/2017
The vision of AAS is "to create an environment where people participate in social and economic development without new infections, without AIDS-related deaths, without stigma or discrimination associated with HIV". 
AAS has 60 permanent staff and 135 volunteers in Burkina Faso 
AAS operates in :  
- In Ouagadougou, it has set up the OASIS Medical Centre since 1998, which is characterised by the establishment of a continuum of care ranging from prevention to comprehensive care.
- The Allain BABILLOT/Ouagadougou Centre is a support framework for orphans and vulnerable children with psycho-affective support.
- In Zorgho, set up in 2003, the AAS has a community care centre with a community approach.
- Zorgho has a community FM radio station that broadcasts in several languages. It is a channel for raising awareness about SRH and the various ills that plague our society.
- Ziniaré: Since 2005, AAS has set up a technical support structure that supports other structures in the execution of their action plans.
- KAYA: AAS has its premises in sector N°6 of the town and works in collaboration with the Medical Centre
- KOUDOUGOU: AAS has its premises in the Zakin district and works in collaboration with the Medical Centre.

For the WAKIRé account: we have 170 individual clients in 4 villages and 4 association and group clients.

Regulatory compliance: Providers such as the Wakiré project must comply with strict financial and security regulations, which can be an obstacle for start-ups or small financial institutions seeking to offer financial services.

Illiteracy: A high illiteracy rate among Burkina Faso's poorest populations can make it difficult to access financial services, which are often based on written forms or digital applications.
Lack of trust: Many Burkinabè have a distrust of traditional financial institutions, which can be attributed to past experiences or cultural beliefs.
Lack of financial education: Lack of financial awareness and knowledge can prevent the poorest people from understanding the benefits of financial services and using them properly.
In summary, to succeed in a financial inclusion project in Burkina Faso, it is essential to consider these financial, technical, legal, cultural and market barriers, and work to overcome them in collaboration with local communities, financial service providers and regulatory authorities.

The Wakiré financial inclusion project based on warrantage and tontine can be considered innovative for several reasons.

First, warrantage is a system in which farmers can use their produce as collateral to obtain a loan. The lenders store the produce in a secure warehouse and return it when the borrower repays the loan. Warrantage is an attractive solution for farmers who need financing for their production, but do not have access to traditional bank loans because of their economic status. By using their produce as collateral, they can obtain loans at reasonable interest rates and repay the loan with the income from their production.
Secondly, the tontine is a popular savings and credit system in many African countries. In a tontine, a group of people meet regularly to contribute money to a common pot. Each member of the group can then borrow money from this pot according to his or her needs, for a fee. The system is self-managed and based on mutual trust between group members. The tontine is an innovative solution for financial inclusion because it allows people who do not have access to traditional banking services to save money and obtain loans at reasonable interest rates.

By combining warrantage and tontine in the Wakiré IT platform, the Wakiré project can offer rural people access to secure loans at reasonable interest rates, while providing them with a collective savings solution. In addition, both schemes can be locally managed and tailored to the specific needs of the community, which can build trust and commitment among members. In sum, a financial inclusion project based on warrantage and tontine can be innovative as it offers a financial solution adapted to the needs of local communities.

In total: we will have 41,100 individual clients and 300 groups and associations for the project Our annual client growth target is 10%.

- We expect 41,100 individual customers and 300 customers (associations or groups) 
- 3rd year: 45540 clients,
- 4th year: 50094 clients
- and 5th year: 55104 clients
- We will reach gender parity in the 4th year