WASHINGTON: The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) has signed three grants to support economic development in Senegal. The grants will benefit Association for Training, Development, Education and Culture (AFDEC), Caisse d'pargne et de crdit de Mpal (CPEC MPAL), and GIE Kambeng Kaafo (Kambeng).
After signing the grants, USADF Chairman Jack Leslie stated, "USADF is committed to funding projects that will help increase people's incomes. These three projects are designed to work with marginalized groups in Senegal to help raise them out of poverty."
AFDEC is a non-profit organization that supports local horticulture projects, small value-added processing cooperatives, community health clinics, and other grassroots development initiatives. Located in Kolda, AFDEC promotes development in some of Senegal's poorest villages. There are currently 15 members of the organization that provide assistance to hundreds of rural Senegalese, helping them to earn incomes. Many of these grassroots groups lack the technical skills to implement large scale projects, so they rely on assistance from NGOs. AFDEC offers critical logistics and technical support to marginalized groups, but it lacks the managerial and accounting skills to administer development projects. The two year grant will fund training, establishment of an office to run the project, and updating manuals and policies. Further, consultants with experience in monitoring and evaluation will teach the staff new skills in development methodologies and strategies, with a focus on extremely marginalized populations.
CPEC MPAL is a financial institution with a headquarters in the district of Tack in the commune of Mpal. The purpose of the project is to improve MPAL's ability to provide financial services to marginalized residents near St. Louis, helping residents obtain funding for projects designed to raise income. With USADF funding, MPAL will work to extend services to more residents by launching an awareness campaign, expand its loan services, improve its operations, and open a new office. The three year grant will specifically fund office equipment, training, new computer software, and funds to hire a consultant to launch the campaign.
Kembeng is a network of fonio producers spread across eight villages organized around Hamdany village in the rural community of Diend. The organization helps its members improve their living standards by organizing the agricultural processing and marketing of fonio and rice. There are currently 421 members, 303 of whom are women. The members of Kambeng engage in small scale agriculture, but struggle to rise above subsistence level incomes. Members use rudimentary tools and traditional growing techniques, which limits crop yield. Further, the Cooperative does not have the management capacity to effectively source inputs, identify markets, and organize training sessions. The two year grant will fund set up of an office, equipment, agricultural inputs, and training.
USADF established programming in Senegal in 1987. Senegal's current portfolio stands at fifteen investment projects totaling more than two million dollars. For more information about the portfolio, please visit the country's quick source page at http://www.adf.gov/USADF-QuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Senegal.htm.
