What specific strategies for mobilizing local resources (inventory of physical/human/financial resources, non-monetary savings, tontines, mutual funds, contributions) are most detailed and recommended in IRED works?
Regarding your question about specific strategies for mobilizing local resources, here are the most detailed and recommended ones in IRED works:
1. INVENTORY OF LOCAL RESOURCES (PHYSICAL, HUMAN, FINANCIAL) #
- General Recommendation: No economic activity program should begin without the leaders of development organizations (DOs/NGOs) first undertaking an effort to identify and mobilize existing local resources. This initial effort is crucial because it demonstrates the initiators’ commitment and increases the likelihood of success.
- Physical Resources: It is essential to inventory and identify the infrastructure and equipment available at the local or regional level. This includes roads, paths, small dams, wells, caves, sheds, irrigation systems, as well as equipment owned by individuals (tractors, pumps, hullers, etc.) whose use by the greatest number of people must be optimized, even if the owner receives compensation.
A village inventory and a regional or city monograph are recommended tools for conducting this inventory. It is also necessary to study land (crops, ownership, conflicts, available areas, irrigated land), forests (distance, use, products), and available water. - Human Resources: It is necessary to identify the skills and know-how present in the local population (innovative farmers, artisans, women’s and youth groups). The available workforce, its qualifications, and local technical knowledge are important assets.
It is also crucial to identify the local elite (villagers working in the city or the capital), their skills, and their influence, because they can provide significant support (respect for a right, access to land, credit, support, external financing). Their professional skills can be used in the management of economic activities (financing, markets, financial management, organization, legal advice) and financially involved. - Local Financial Resources: Mobilizing existing savings in the community, particularly through traditional systems such as tontines, is a primary source of self-financing. Specific material contributions from project members (animals, land, premises, donations, loans) must also be considered, as well as initial mandatory contributions or participations. The involvement of local elites to direct the money from their tontines toward new activities or to lend money at low interest rates is also suggested.
The local government can also contribute by donating land, water points, equipment, or offering services at reduced prices. It is essential to identify the various opportunities for obtaining local credit through traditional or popular savings systems.
2. NON-MONETARY SAVINGS #
- Description: Non-cash savings include forms of savings other than cash, such as hoarding (jewelry, livestock, buried money) and grain banks.
- Recommendations: Although hoarding is considered a fortune that does not “work” for development, grain banks are presented as a useful tool. The initial stock can be built up from in-kind contributions from member families (bags of millet, corn, rice), thus avoiding external purchases.
3. TONTINES #
- Description: Tontines are a popular traditional savings tool in Africa, both in rural and urban areas. Their simple system relies on regular contributions from members, with the total stake being distributed to each member in turn. They operate on trust and mutual understanding.
- Recommendations: Although tontine savings are often used to finance non-productive social expenditures (education, health, housing), some tontines of wealthier individuals can generate significant sums used to invest and create small businesses. It is recommended that this mobilization system be prioritized and modernized. Money from local elite tontines can also be directed toward new economic activities. However, it is noted that tontine savings primarily serve social objectives and are rarely directed toward professional economic investment.
4. MUTUAL SAVINGS AND CREDIT BANKS (SAVINGS AND CREDIT BANKS, POPULAR BANKS) #
- Description: These institutions are considered essential and close to the population. They allow local savings to be mobilized and redistributed in the form of credit for limited investments, particularly for small producers (microfinance). They are often based on the mutual guarantee system.
- Recommendations: Their creation and development are crucial. It is recommended to further involve community representatives in key decisions for participatory management geared toward local and sustainable development. Care must be taken to ensure that local savings collected are actually used for local development and are not diverted to external investments without benefiting local populations.
The primary role of these funds is to mobilize local savings and redistribute them, preventing them from leaking out of the local development circuit. Their financing needs are linked to increasing their capital, training their staff, and creating competent research offices for risk management and credit distribution. They are an essential bridge between the informal and formal sectors. It is important to support these institutions and invest local savings in them.
5. CONTRIBUTIONS AND PARTICIPATIONS (OWN EFFORT) #
- Description: The self-effort of those involved, in the form of contributions in kind, labor, or money, is fundamental to any development. Initial mandatory contributions or participations (shareholding, stock purchase) constitute internal financial resources.
- Recommendations: It is strongly recommended to establish this own contribution from the launch of economic projects. Banks often require proof of own contribution (at least 25% of the project cost) to grant credit. It is regrettable that the own contribution in volunteer work is rarely taken into account by banks and aid agencies. It is therefore essential to promote and mobilize these existing local resources. The birth of an OD/NGO often begins with its own resources: contributions, social shares, contribution in labor, in kind.
In summary, IRED’s work places strong emphasis on the need for a comprehensive inventory of local resources in all their forms as a starting point. Mobilizing local savings, through adapted traditional mechanisms such as tontines, and developing and supporting mutual savings and credit unions are presented as key and detailed strategies for self-financing. The importance of members’ own efforts and contributions is also emphasized as an essential foundation for project launch and credibility.
