Entrepreneurs du Monde


Entrepreneurs du Monde is a French international nongovernmental organization founded in 1998 and operating in ten countries of West Africa, the Caribbean and Asia.
The organisation supports microfinance programmes with a strong social orientation, which target thousands of very deprived women and men. The focus is laid on promoting their entrepreneurship spirit by supporting them in their attempt to develop an economic activity.

History

The organisation was created in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, France in by its present Director, Franck Renaudin.
Entrepreneurs du Monde initially ran thanks to the voluntary contribution of its members and was contributing to existing programmes in the Philippines and in India. In 2003, the activity started to develop and the first permanent employee was hired. In November the same year, the head office was transferred to Poitiers, France, in a building shared with the NGO Initiative Développement. In 2004 and 2005, Initiative Développement decided to hand over its microfinance programmes in Benin, in Ghana and in Haiti to Entrepreneurs du Monde.
Parallel to this, the organisation developed new programmes in the Philippines, in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia as well as Burkina Faso, while a technical follow-up agreement was signed in Myanmar with a rural lending programme in the Southern part of the country.

Socio-economic approach

Entrepreneurs du Monde claims it supported microentrepreneurs in 2009. Its objective is to support even more people through its programmes spread in ten countries around the world in 2010, by providing them with following services:
  1. Loan products, to finance the creation or the development of a small economic activity, in urban or rural environment;
  2. Savings product to reinforce the capacity of families to manage their budget and to anticipate their needs;
  3. Health microinsurance, to reduce the vulnerability of families and preserve economic progresses achieved previously;
  4. Trainings: trainings on economic subjects ; trainings on social topics ; vocational and practical trainings ;
  5. Social Permanencies: in urban branches, a social worker provides most deprived microentrepreneurs with counselling and refers them to specialised organisation able to bring them complementary support;
  6. Social entrepreneurship: to promote certain activities identified as affecting society on one hand, and economically viable on the other hand. Most are innovative activities which can affect health, shelter or environment. Entrepreneurs du Monde tries here to focus its contribution on the structuring of an economic chain.
CountryPartner OrganisationPlace
Association de Lutte pour la promotion des Initiatives de Développement Cotonou
Association Inter Instituts "Ensemble et Avec" Ouagadougou
Laafi Sira Kwieogo Ouagadougou
Micro StartOuagadougou
ChamroeunPhnom Penh
Sovann PhoumPhnom Penh
Initiative Development GhanaAccra
Village Exchange GhanaHo
Initiative de Développement par la MicrofinancePort-au-Prince, Cabaret
Navnirman Community Resource Center Kolkata
GumiKhishig-Öndör
Yadana SubooKanbauk
Gabay BuhayManila
Inner City Development Corporation Manila
SEEDCavite City
SpaceManila
Uplift PhilippinesManila
Chi EmÐiện Biên Phủ

Structure and financing

Entrepreneurs du Monde is an organisation registered under the Association Act 1901 of the French law. It is a not-for-profit organisation which was employing on permanent employees and volunteers based in the head office of Poitiers and different programmes in Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ghana, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Entrepreneurs du Monde is financed by private sources as well as public ones, the first of which being the French Development Agency. In 2011 and 2012 the Womanity Foundation provided Entrepreneurs du Monde with funding to aid with the reconstruction of Haiti with a program supporting women entrepreneurship with paid jobs, a microcredit scheme, training, and infrastructure.