Blended finance improves our partner’s efficiency and the fund performance. Empowering our partners to grow sustainably by fostering wealth and job creation among their final beneficiaries is our ambition and desired impact. The specific objective of the TA Facility is to boost the operational, social and financial capacities of selected clients and support them in providing tailored products to targeted populations. Considering the environmental stakes of the Mediterranean region and the mission of CoopMed, the TA Facility will focus on MFIs showing a strong commitment in local development, particularly to rural areas.
Since its inception, CoopMed has wanted to set up a technical assistance mechanism to support its future clients. Thanks to financial support from the Government of Luxembourg/EIB (European Investment Bank), the TA Facility is now active and CoopMed provides (since June 2017) advisory services to its investees. Based on the initial success, CoopMed has received from the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) to increase the resources of the TA Facility in order to serve all CooopMed clients.
CoopMed is expected to raise up to EUR 1M over the next 3 years that will be used to provide technical assistance interventions for approximately 20 investees (MFIs, banks, financial intermediaries).
CoopMed assists investees through the overall process of technical assistance actions. We help our clients to identify primary gaps or needs, to prepare all necessary documents to find the right advisor, and to implement and monitor the execution of activities. CoopMed provides up to 80% of the eligible costs.CoopMed assists investees through the overall process of technical assistance actions. We help our clients to identify primary gaps or needs, to prepare all necessary documents to find the right advisor, and to implement and monitor the execution of activities. CoopMed provides up to 80% of the eligible costs.
The CoopMed TA Facility mainly focuses on five areas of intervention:
- Diversification of product range. This may include: elaboration/review of financial products adapted to the local economy (with particular focus on agriculture, cooperatives, green sector); promotion of innovative supply channels; diagnostic analysis to better understand portfolio characteristics; surveys and client satisfaction studies; segmentation and mapping studies to identify new markets.
- Risk management. This may include: in-depth analysis of portfolio at risk; development/review of credit-risk assessment techniques; elaboration of credit scoring tools; adaptation of MIS with specific risk modules; provision of training/coaching to foster know-how transfer to the concerned departments; set up and training on AML/FT procedures.
- Social performance and impact measure practices. This may include: set up of SPM and environmental action plans; elaboration/adaptation of tools to track/measure social and environmental dimensions of the operations; trainings on SPM best practices (ex. SPI4); social ratings; Client Protection Principles (CPP) assessment/certification; environmental impact assessments; implementation of impact studies (with key characteristics of cost effectiveness and replicability).
- Strategy and good governance. This may include: development of new strategies, elaboration of action plans, implementation of audits and institutional diagnostics; training and personal coaching to reinforce governance good practices.
- Information technology. This may include: customization/adaptation of the Management Information System (MIS); cloud banking; set up of innovative delivery channels (ex. mobile banking); digitalization of operations; development of applications to introduce “branchless banking.”