“Marie Kouakanou was born around 1966 in Guévié Zoukomè in the First District of the city of Porto-Novo, administrative and political capital of Benin. Marie is married and has one child. She is a petty trader selling various items (tinned tomatoes, sardines, mosquito coils, etc.) but since she lacks sufficient capital, she is not able to restock her stall in a timely manner and thus does not manage to satisfy the needs of her clientele. To bolster her little business, she is asking for a loan.

Alidé means “there is always a path for the poorest” in Benin’s local language of Fon. Benin is a small West African country located next to Nigeria and has a per capita GDP of $1,500.  Alidé offers special loans to highly vulnerable people at an interest rate of 0%. It is part of a group that is soon launching a micro health insurance program for recipients of micro-loans.”

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