AVEC

AT A GLANCE

The project aims at promoting the empowerment and the socio-economic integration of vulnerable women in the Tiddas region of Morocco by establishing a close collaboration with the banking system.
The 100 women selected for this project benefit from a training that allows the setting up of 5 Village Associations of Savings and Loans (AVEC, according to its acronym in French). These women are trained by two field workers to create and manage Income Generating Activities in order to develop small profitable and enduring businesses.

OBJECTIVES

The global objective of the project is to promote the empowerment and economic and social integration of vulnerable women through the institutionalisation of a new form of mutual assistance adapted to households, the Villages Associations of Savings and Loans (AVEC).

In particular it envisages to achieve the following:

• Targeted women participate in key decisions taken in their households;
• Targeted women have access to micro-credit and control the resources generated by their Income Generating Activities.
• The perceptions of the target populations evolves in favor of greater equality between men and women as a consequence of the creation of the AVECs;
• The AVEC methodology is acknowledge by the project stakeholders (public authorities, development associations and women’s associations).

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Meetings with local authorities and civil society organisations to provide support to the project.
Objectives: Public authorities and civil society are made aware of the creation of the AVECs and their legitimacy.

Activity 2: Implementation of the AVECs through the training on the savings and loan system.
Objectives:

• Women become autonomous in the management of the AVECs. Five of them are founded in the region of Tiddas.
• Economic empowerment of vulnerable women through the investment in profitable economic initiatives (60% of AVEC members have increased and / or diversified their sources of income at the end of the project).

Activity 3: Training on the creation and management of Income Generating Activities
Objectives:

• Two field agents are trained to deliver training on the creation and management of Income Generating Activities;
• 100 vulnerable women have followed the training on the creation and management of Income Generating Activities.

Activity 4: Administrative support is made available for women to benefit from medical insurance (RAMED).
Objectives:

• 100 vulnerable women are informed and made aware of RAMED.
• Social protection for vulnerable women is improved (80% of targeted women are covered by solidarity-based medical insurance).

Activity 5: Advocacy to local authorities for the recognition of the AVEC methodology.
Objectives: Dialogue initiated with the public authorities for the institutionalisation of the AVEC methodology. If officially recognised, the future AVEC projects will be able to receive public funding.

Activity 6: Awareness-raising sessions on formal banking
Objectives: Women are aware of the methods, processes and institutions of formal banking.