ACTB Sierra Leone: 5 lessons from a growing MSME lender
Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest countries, faces many development challenges, including access to financial services. Currently, 80 percent of Sierra Leone’s population of 7 million have no access to formal financial services. ACTB, an investee of the Dutch Good Growth Fund - Financing Local SMEs (DGGF) since 2018, aims to serve these underserved individuals and businesses.
ACTB's growing portfolio
Despite the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic, the 2019–2022 COVID-19 pandemic, and a heavily depreciating currency in recent years, ACTB has steadily grown its client portfolio since its founding. Furthermore, ACTB is currently steadily increasing its focus on women-led businesses and rural areas as part of a focus on financial inclusion for low-income families and communities in Sierra Leone.
ACTB is currently steadily increasing its focus on women-led businesses and rural areas as part of a focus on financial inclusion for low-income families and communities.
Learning example for Microfinance Institutions
ACTB’s case thus provides a compelling and inspiring example of a successful and scalable financing model for the underserved at the bottom of the pyramid. This presents a learning opportunity for other, particularly younger, Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). As such, DGGF commissioned a case study, extracting five key lessons that could be replicated by MFIs in other countries or regions. At the core of all five lessons stand the high-trust, cooperative relationships that ACTB has established with clients, investors and regulators.
The case study can be found here.
Webinar on case study
Moreover, we will host a webinar on Thursday March 9, 2023 at 4pm (CET) where the case study will be discussed in more detail. Click here to access this webinar.