Women and Associations for Gain both Economic and Social

Gross Loan Portfolio USD, 2010: 20.3 million

Number of active borrowers 2010: 15,429

Average loan balance per borrower USD, 2010: 1,316.5

Deposits USD, 2010: 12.6 million

Assets USD, 2010: 23.4 million

Number of depositors 2010: 131,808

Mission:

WAGES aims to support women engaged in income-generaing activities in urban, peri-urban and rural areas, by helping them organize themselves into associations that allow them to benefit from financial services, institutional support, and training. It aims to provide these services as a ... Read more

Background and Main Challenges:

The principle challenges of WAGES are as follows: to become financially self-sufficient, to master its information management, to supply high quality services, and to have a positive socio-economic impact. To this end, the high quality of our current portfolio is a considerable asset.

Address:

BP 1339

Lome

Togo

Phone:

(228) 222-5471

Fax:

(228) 222-7899

Email:

wages [at] cafe [dot] tg

Main Funding Sources:

Grants

Loans

Savings

Products and Services:

Loans

Voluntary Savings

Services Provided:

Education

Looking for (Investment Types):

Loans in Local Currency

Donations

Capacity Building Grants

Equity investments

% Operations Comprised by MF:

91 - 100

Date established:

Jan 1 1994

FYE:

31-Dec

Current Legal Status:

NGO

Regulated:

yes

Social Performance Profile


+ Mission specifics
+ Target markets (ranked by importance)
Women	1
Clients living in urban areas	2
Clients living in rural areas	3
Adolescents and youth (below 18)	4
+ Development goals (ranked by importance)
Poverty reduction	1
Increased access to financial services	2
Growth of existing businesses	3
Employment generation	4
Youth opportunities	5
Improvement of adult education	6
+ Poverty targets
Very poor clients
Poor clients
Low income clients
+ Governance
Has trained members of its board on social performance management
+ Range of products and services
+ Financial products and services offered
+ Credit products offered
Microcredit loans for microenterprises
Microcredit for household needs/consumption
SME loans
Loans for agriculture
Loans for education
Housing loans
+ Savings products offered
Voluntary savings accounts
Compulsory savings accounts (cash collateral)
Fixed term deposits
Special purpose savings accounts
+ Compulsory insurance products required
Compulsory credit life insurance
+ Voluntary insurance products offered
+ Other financial products and services offered
Remittances services
+ Non-financial services offered
+ Enterprise services offered
Enterprise skills development
Business development services
+ Education services offered
Financial literacy education
Prévention contre le paludisme et le VIH Sida
+ Health services offered
+ Women's empowerment services offered
Leadership training for women
Plaidoyer de certaines corporations
+ Products and services targeting the poor
Products and services specifically designed to target the poor:
+ Social responsibility to clients
+ Client protection principles in use
The loan approval process requires evaluation of borrower repayment capacity and loan affordability. Loan approval does not rely solely on guarantees (whether peer guarantees, co-signers or collateral) as a substitute for good capacity analysis.
Internal audits check household debt exposure, lending practices that violate procedures including unauthorized re-financing, multiple borrowers or co-signers per household, and other practices that could increase indebtedness.
Productivity targets and incentive systems value portfolio quality at least as highly as other factors, such as disbursement or customer growth. Growth is rewarded only if portfolio quality is high.
Prices, terms and conditions of all financial products are fully disclosed to the customer prior to sale, including interest charges, insurance premiums, minimum balances, all fees, penalties, linked products, third party fees, and whether these can change over time.
Staff is trained to communicate effectively with all customers, ensuring that they understand the product, the terms of the contract, their rights and obligations. Communications techniques address literacy limitations (e.g. reading contracts out loud, materials in local languages).
Acceptable and unacceptable debt collection practices are clearly spelled out in a code of ethics, book of staff rules or debt collection manual.
The organization's corporate culture values and rewards high standards of ethical behavior and customer service.
A mechanism to handle customer complaints is in place, has dedicated staff resources, and is actively used. (Suggestion boxes alone are generally not considered adequate.)
Customers know how their information will be used. Staff explains how data will be used and seeks permission for use.
+ Cost of services to clients
Declining balance interest method
+ Social responsibility to staff
+ Human resources
Transparency on salary (a clear salary scale based upon market salaries)
Benefits (medical insurance, pension contribution)
Protection at work (safety, anti-harassment)
Equality (anti-discrimination, equal pay for men and women with equivalent skill levels)
+ Basis of staff incentives related to social performance
Portfolio quality
+ Social responsibility to the environment
This institution identifies enterprises with environmental risk
This institution offers lending lines linked to alternative energies
+ Poverty measurement tools in use

Partnerships

Current
Name	Relationship
ADA	Partner
ALTERFIN	Funding
CAGECFI	Vendor
CARE	Network Affiliation
Kiva	Funding
Luxmint - ADA	Funding
Microfinanza Rating	Rating
Oikocredit	Funding
Planet Rating	Rating
SIDI	Funding
The Rating Fund	Partner
UNCDF	Funding