APEM - PAIQ

APEM PAIQ is a microfinance institution for small urban entrepreneurs, mainly located in Antananarivo and the surrounding area. It offers loans, with an average amount of MGA 1.2 million (EUR 300), as well as complementary non-financial services such as health insurance and training.

With Miarakap's funding and support, APEM PAIQ aims to triple its level of activity between 2019 and 2023 by opening a dozen additional offices in Antananarivo and adjacent municipalities.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

The Projet d'Appui aux Initiatives de Quartier (PAIQ - Neighbourhood Initiatives Support Project) is a project initiated by the French Cooperation in 1998. The project was carried out in Antananarivo by the Association pour la Promotion de l'Entreprise à Madagascar (APEM - Association for Entreprise Promotion in Madagascar) as a project manager. At the end of the French Cooperation funding, the APEM continued the project by financing it from its own funds and transforming it into a public limited company in 2010.

The institution is now directed by Rihatiana Rasonarivo, a 40-year-old Malagasy woman. The Executive Director of APEM PAIQ is a graduate of INSCAE in Accounting and Control and holds a Master's degree in Management from the University of Antananarivo. She held positions as internal controller and then administrative and financial manager before joining APEM PAIQ in 2011.

PARTNERSHIP WITH MIARAKAP

Miarakap has committed to APEM PAIQ to:

• Enable the opening of new neighbourhood offices and their computerization

• Strengthen corporate governance by actively participating in strategic decisions

• Strengthen the capacities of managerial and operational staff through technical assistance missions

MAIN IMPACTS

The development plan includes:

• More than 50 formal jobs created or maintained

• Access to financial services for more than 5,000 small urban entrepreneurs in Antananarivo by 2023

• The training of more than 100 entrepreneurs per year

• The development of a social performance policy