Princess Maxima has already won the hearts of the Dutch people and now she looks set to win those of Africans. As part of her West African tour of Senegal and Mali, the Crown Princess of the Netherlands is acting as a UN advocate for inclusive finance in the fight against poverty. Her goal? To prove that microfinance can turn dreams into cash and self-reliance.

By Sheriff Bojang Jnr

Inside the PAMECAS microfinance office in Dakar, about a dozen middle-aged women sit quietly waiting to be served by one of the microfinance officers.

All these women are brought together by a common enemy: poverty. And they turn to microfinance for a way out.

Escaping poverty
Ndeye Toure is a 48-year-old mother of three young children. Her husband was a factory worker in the suburbs of Dakar in the 1990s but was laid off due to poor health. With no job or earnings, Ndeye couldn’t send her kids to school.

In order to put food on the table for her family, she cooked for people in her neighborhood whenever they have occasions such as weddings and christening ceremonies. She earned just enough to buy three loaves of bread for her sick husband and the three kids.

Grassroots banking
By late 2009, Ndeye was introduced to microfinance by a relative who had seen the benefits of grassroots banking. At first, she thought her semi-educated relative was plotting to use her own poverty and illiteracy for personal gains.

‘When she told me that she was taking me to the microfinance office so that I could take out a loan and start my own business, I was a bit suspicious because I could not imagine me of all people taking educated people’s money and starting my own business’, she says.

But after her relative used her own household items as a guarantee, Ndeye was given a loan of 50,000 CFA Francs (about 75 Euros) to start her own business. She started selling vegetables in a market stall, before adding soap and body cream to her stock list. Today she’s the proud owner of three different hair and body cream shops and multiple market stalls across Dakar. Her children are all going to school and she provides a job for at least seven of her relatives.

Senegalese women
Like the case of Ndeye, the booming microfinance market is changing the lives of many women in Senegal. According to the West African Central Bank (BCEAO), nearly 40% of Senegal’s population (most of which were women) borrowed money from microfinance providers in 2003.

At present there are over 600 microfinance institutions across Senegal, with numbers of grassroots borrowers steadily increasing.

Maxima champions microfinance
Senegal’s fight for inclusive finance was boosted this week by a visit from the Crown Princess of the Netherlands, Princess Maxima, as part of a tour around West Africa.

In her role as the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance, Princess Maxima met with Senegalese authorities including President Abdoulaye Wade and other non-governmental stakeholders to push for inclusive finance for all.

In an exclusive interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) in Dakar, the Princess said: “what I try to advocate is that everyone can have access to an array of financial services that are affordable for everyone needing them, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable institutions.’

'A lot of work underway'
Princess Maxima is impressed with the rapid growth of microfinance in Senegal. However, she told RNW that financial institutions now need to “reduce their costs and therefore reduce the interest rates for the people.”

When asked about the future of Senegal, the princess replied: ‘There are lots of challenges but I think we’ve had some very good conversations and there’s a lot of work underway.’

While microfinance has changed the lives and fortunes of many Senegalese people, especially women, some experts often describe the initiative as a way for micro-financiers to exploit the finances of everyday people.