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Transparent Pricing In West Africa

Please note that MFTransparency is no longer collecting new pricing data. The data displayed for this country is for historical purposes only and does not represent current products or prices in the country. Note that the age of the information for each MFI is indicated in the table below.

The Transparent Pricing Initiative in West Africa was undertaken by MFTransparency from July 2010 to November 2011, marking the expansion of MFTransparency’s work to this region for the first time. The program was funded by Luxembourg Cooperation and covered the eight countries of the West African Monetary Union.

Microfinance in the WAEMU Region

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) (in French: Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine, UEMOA) is an organization of eight states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The Union was established to promote economic integration in the region, consolidating regional economic activity under the guidance of one bank, the Central Bank of West African States (in French: Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, BCEAO).

The BCEAO acts as the head regulatory and supervisory body for all financial institutions operating in member states. In 1993 the BCEAO developed the PARMEC Law in order to regulate licensed MFIs in WAEMU countries. More than 410 MFIs with total deposits of about FCFA 170 million and outstanding loans of FCFA 130 million were registered in the WAEMU region as of 2003. Since then the policy framework has undergone several phases of change, including issuance of the New Microfinance Law in 2007.

Truth-in-Lending Legislation

The official formula for calculating prices for all microloans in the WAEMU region, as stipulated by BCEAO, is known as the “Taux Effectif Global (TEG)” or the Effective Interest Rate (EIR). The official pricing regulation specifies that the TEG takes into account fees paid by the borrower as well as interest payments, but there is ambiguity whether insurance fees are included in the calculation.  The formula does exclude compulsory savings requirements.  Although the law is well-known, the formula for calculating the TEG is not well-known.  In fact, there is a great deal of confusion about the formula and how to interpret and apply the formula.

While the microfinance industry is generally governed by the new microfinance law of 2007, the pricing component is specifically  addressed separately in the “Law on Usury” which was published by BCEAO in 1997. This law applies to all financial institutions that provide loans, including microloans. The most significant stipulation of the Law on Usury is a price rate cap. This law fixed the cap at 27% for all non-bank institutions offering microfinance services. The cap was revised down to 24% in 2013.

Microfinance Pricing in the WAEMU Region

A total of 96 institutions in the WAEMU voluntarily submitted their pricing data to MFTransparency, representing the vast majority of microfinance institutions in the region. Analysis of the dataset revealed that some microloan products provided in the WAEMU region were priced above the price cap, but that in most if not all cases this was due to ambiguities about how to apply the TEG formula.  MFTransparency has decided to withhold all WAEMU pricing data from publication pending clarifications on the formula used for the price cap.

MFTransparency believes that the Law on Usury has the best of intentions for 16 years, and indications are that the MFIs wish to respect the Law and believe they are acting in accordance with the price cap.  MFT supports further dialogue and instruction on how to interpret and apply the formula.

West Africa Institutions

CountryInstitution# Borrowers# ProductsParticipating Since Age of Data
BeninALIDE16345511-Nov
BeninCAISSE CODES391211-Nov
BeninCMMB2980411-Nov
BeninCOMUBA12155411-Nov
BeninCPEC27567211-Nov
BeninFECECAM84095211-Nov
BeninFIDEVIE19808111-Nov
BeninHunger Project7057111-Nov
BeninMDB3300411-Nov
BeninMODEC13509311-Nov
BeninPADME49723411-Nov
BeninPAPME14111311-Nov
BeninPEBCO4730611-Nov
BeninUNACREP3540311-Nov
BeninVital Finance15221211-Nov
Burkina FasoABF300211-Jan
Burkina FasoACFIME4000211-Nov
Burkina FasoASIENA3893211-Jan
Burkina FasoFAARF75000311-Jan
Burkina FasoFCPB1108000711-Oct
Burkina FasoGRAINE27113211-Jan
Burkina FasoLSK532311-Oct
Burkina FasoMECRA34111-Jan
Burkina FasoMICRO START14187411-Jan
Burkina FasoMUFEDE-B321111-Oct
Burkina FasoNABONSWENDE190111-Jan
Burkina FasoPAMF-BF15100311-Jan
Burkina FasoPRODIA- AC3016111-Jan
Burkina FasoSID80211-Oct
Burkina FasoSOFIPE441111-Oct
Burkina FasoUCVEC856111-Jan
Burkina FasoURCBAM906511-Oct
Guinea BissauCPC ADI118111-Nov
Guinea BissauCPC ADIM97111-Nov
Guinea BissauMPC-DIVUTEC1137311-Nov
Guinea BissauNIMBA350111-Nov
Mali CAMEC Nationale18000211-Nov
Mali CMEC Jigisigi354111-Nov
Mali CVECA Kita8239211-Nov
Mali Caisse Yiriwato708111-Nov
Mali Gueleya Kunbe100111-Nov
Mali Jigiyaso Ba24300311-Nov
Mali Kafo Jiginew54371311-Nov
Mali Layidu Wari1409211-Nov
Mali Le Tonus863111-Nov
Mali Miselini17154211-Nov
Mali Nyesigiso16858311-Nov
Mali Piyeli4814211-Nov
Mali RMCR16715311-Nov
Mali Sinsinso536211-Nov
Mali Sotobajo891211-Nov
Mali UCMECD2021211-Nov
Niger2Hfinance52111-Nov
NigerALBARKA SA4919111-Nov
NigerAsusu SA38252211-Nov
NigerCASEF Mourna1106111-Nov
NigerCMN2383211-Nov
NigerCapital Finance3121111-Nov
NigerHAMZARI73111-Nov
NigerKAANI5645211-Nov
NigerMEC DOUBARA535211-Nov
NigerMECREF2260211-Nov
NigerMUTEC WADATA68111-Nov
NigerMiyetti Allah1500111-Nov
NigerNIYYA3841211-Nov
NigerSDSA4020111-Nov
NigerSICR KOKARI1556111-Nov
NigerTaanadi SA15680211-Nov
SenegalACEP22443111-Jan
SenegalCMS85237911-Sep
SenegalCOOPEC RESOPP8583111-Sep
SenegalCaurie MF36250311-Sep
SenegalFDEA15000311-Jan
SenegalMEC FEPRODES7987511-Jan
SenegalMECAP8715311-Sep
SenegalMECFGY486211-Sep
SenegalMECPROGOLF119211-Jan
SenegalMECZY1268111-Jan
SenegalPAMECAS70000211-Jan
SenegalRECEC F-D11000111-Sep
SenegalSEMFUND2264111-Sep
SenegalU-IMCEC11822311-Jan
SenegalUMECAS1902211-Sep
TogoASJD1018311-Oct
TogoCECA2058411-Oct
TogoCOOPEC-ILEMA1268211-Oct
TogoFECECAV5796211-Oct
TogoFUCEC78174311-Oct
TogoIDH282311-Oct
TogoMGPCC Dekawowo1190411-Oct
TogoMUDECK1167611-Oct
TogoTIMPAC91111-Oct
TogoU-CMECS4788211-Oct
TogoUCECTO1515211-Oct
TogoUMECTO3390311-Oct
TogoWAGES15400511-Oct
Caps / Zoom options
Key Statistics
# Samples:
# Products
# Institutions
# Countries
# Borrowers
Loan Portfolio (USD)
% Products using declining balance
% Products with one or more fee
% Products with one or more insurances
% Products with compulsory deposits
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Country InstAbbrev SampleCode Loan Amount USD Loan Term (Months) SampClients FullAPR DateApproved
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