USADF Signs Three Grants to Support Grassroots Groups in Mali:

WASHINGTON - April 21, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 21, 2010 – The United States African Development Foundations (USADF) has signed three grants to benefit grassroots groups in Mali.  The grants will benefit Association Réseau Régional des Horticulture de Kayes (RHK), Centre d’Appui à la Microfinance et au Développement Local (CAMIDE), and Espace Culturel le N’Domo (N’Domo).

USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated, “USADF works with the most marginalized groups to help create jobs and generate incomes.  These three grants in Mali reach out to those populations and offer resources to help alleviate poverty.”

RHK is a federation of horticulture cooperatives in the Kayes region of Mali, an area that has a high incidence of poverty and food insecurity.  They provide extension services, marketing assistance, input services, and administrative support to members.  The members currently face challenges in terms of low productivity, limited access to vegetable inputs, and inadequate storage facilities.  The twenty month grant will help finance new machinery and materials, training, and technical assistance.

CAMIDE is a microfinance association that oversees fifty-seven credit unions and works with people with modest incomes especially poor women in the city and surrounding villages of Kayes.  The grant will help establish more microfinance products, such as credit for milk production, vegetable production, and small business start-ups.  The give year grant will fund improving current facilities, training, establishing credit funds, and providing for administrative costs.

N’Domo is a company that trains young artists in traditional Malian crafts, sells art to international buyers, and operates guided tours of Malian cultural sites.  While there is high demand for dyed wool and fabrics made in the traditional Bogolan style, most Malian youth lack this skill to enter this market.  The proposed project will create jobs while promoting Malian culture.  The five year grant will fund construction of a workshop, training in Bogolan techniques and literacy, and raw materials.  N’Domo also plans to hire an additional thirty artisans.

USADF began programming in Mali in 1984.  The current country portfolio includes twenty-two projects totaling nearly four million dollars.  For more information on the portfolio, please visit the Quick Source page at  http://www.adf.gov/USADF-QuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Mali.htm.

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunities to the most marginalized populations in Africa. Currently USADF operates in 20 African countries. Over the past 25 years, USADF has funded in excess of $200 million in African initiated and led development projects.  For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov.

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