To contribute to the alleviation of rural poverty in Benin, this project aims to expand sustainable financial services tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers in its target areas. Project activities comprise three main components:

• Professionalizing existing and new rural financial services, including microfinancing
• Strengthening technical and professional support for microfinance institutions, and increasing information exchanges with strategic partners
• Developing new, innovative rural financial products and services and improving existing products, all based on industry best practices.

By supporting rural financial institutions and service providers, the project will benefit at least 150,000 clients and will create hundreds of jobs in the rural finance sector. For smallholders, it will enhance financial autonomy and increase the level of credit available for the production, processing, storage and marketing of agricultural products. Source: IFAD