Madagascar

In Madagascar, households on low incomes can barely access loans or other financial services like savings accounts. KfW Development Bank is supporting the Access Bank Madagascar (ABM), which extends small credit volumes to micro- and small enterprises and smallholders. Customers who repay their loans successfully qualify to borrow larger amounts subsequently. In this way, the productivity of businesses and the income of the bank’s clients can be effectively increased. Demand is huge and leads to the positive knock-on effect of creating qualified jobs in the bank itself. Currently, ABM has 790 employees working in 25 branches, who serve nearly 140.000 clients in total.

Furthermore, KfW Development Banks specifically supports the extension of the range of financial services of ABM, with a special focus on housing finance and investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. By developing specialized financial products, adapted financial services can be provided for the middle class and poor parts of the population, as well as for small businesses. Long-term loans allow, for example, the purchase of solar-home-systems or the acquisition of habitation.

ABM is part of the Access Holding network which includes a total of six other micro-finance institutions in Africa. ABM has a bank license and complies with internationally recognized standards which ensure transparency and are aimed at protecting customers, for example against over-indebtedness.

Despite forest clearance and settlement pressure, Madagascar has a unique habitat with fascinating flora and fauna. German development cooperation (DC) is promoting environmental and nature protection and is thus tackling poverty. Ultimately, only a well preserved natural environment will attract tourists.

KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German government is investing specifically in the national parks, which is also intended to benefit residents. Beside an efficient and sustainable management of protected areas, ecological tourism is at the heart of these efforts.

Visitor numbers are far from sufficient to cover the costs for maintaining the parks. For this reason, KfW, together with other international organisations, has co-financed the "Madagascar Foundation for Protected Areas and Diversity". Interest income from the foundation's assets already partially covers the operating costs for managing individual parks.

KfW also supports the reforestation of degraded areas with wood for fuel, the protection against erosion as well as the securing of usage rights of the farmers involved. Reforestations serve to cover the increasing need of charcoal, which would otherwise lead to further deforestation of the natural forests at risk. The measures aimed at erosion protection reduce the silting of rice fields and stabilise the hydrologic balance.

Project example - Investment Fund Madagascar National Park  (PDF, 197 KB, non-accessible)

Project example - Wood Energy  (PDF, 183 KB, non-accessible)