Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am particularly pleased to be here today, for the signing of this important agreement between the Support Fund for the Women of Côte d’Ivoire (FAFCI) and the National Social Security Fund (CNPS), which enables FAFCI beneficiaries to register for the Social Security Scheme for Self-employed Workers (RSTI).
First of all, I want to extend my warmest greetings to Mr. Adama Kamara, Minister of Employment and Social Protection who is her with us this afternoon for the signing ceremony.
My greetings also go to Mr. Charles Denis Kouassi, CNPS Director General, whom I congratulate on the implementation of this initiative on behalf of women.
I also welcome the presence of the General Managers and Directors of FAFCI’s partners:
-Mr. Arsène Coulibaly, Director General of BACI,
-Mrs. Dollo Hélène, Director of the Regulation of Decentralized Financial Systems,
-Mr. Cyrille Tanoé, Executive Director of the Association of Decentralized Financial Systems
-Mr. Issiaka Savané, Administrator of UNACOOPEC,
-Ms. Eulodie Koffi, Director General of GES-CI,
-Mr. Sié Amed Touré, General Manager of Cofina,
-And Mr. René Yédiéti, President and CEO of Barnoin Informatique
I would like to salute the CNPS teams and my Cabinet, who worked towards the agreement we will sign today.
I also greet women beneficiaries here present, and more particularly Mrs. N’Goran Doh Viviane, who delivered the speech on their behalf.
Finally, my greetings go to our friends from the media who attend each of our events.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you know, I have always believed in the potential of Côte d’Ivoire women and in their ability to adapt to all the circumstances that come their way.
Based on that conviction I committed myself ,since 2012, to support the empowerment of women, by creating the Support Fund for Women of Côte d’Ivoire, with the support of my dear husband, President Alassane Ouattara.
My objective is to promote women’s empowerment by providing them with low-cost financial resources to start income-generating activities.
With an initial capital of one billion CFA francs in 2012, FAFCI is now endowed with 25 billion CFA francs. Thanks to the return on investment, a total of 71 billion 700 million FCFA has been used to date to finance the projects of 353,000 women beneficiaries.
These positive results were obtained thanks to women who make it a point of honor to repay the loans they receive. This strictness has allowed us to record an excellent loan repayment rate of 98% at the national level.
The beautiful stories told by beneficiaries reinforce the idea that FAFCI truly contributes to the development of women and the well-being of their families. And I am very happy about this.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, we are about to sign an agreement between FAFCI and the CNPS, we are taking another important step in our efforts to improve the quality of life of women and their families.
Indeed, the Social security Scheme for Self-employed Workers (RSTI) will enable women to benefit from a social coverage, in order to guarantee them the sustainability of their activities. Indeed, they will be able to continue to do their businesses with a peaceful mind, because they are protected against the risks of loss of income in case of pregnancy, accidents, illness or retirement.
For example, in case of pregnancy, a trader who contributes to the CNPS will be able to benefit from a leave and will continue to receive during this period, the entirety of her declared income, as it is the case for normal workers.
In addition to that, the RSTI offers other advantages as the Director General of the CNPS has just enumerated, in case of accident or retirement.
Consequently, joining RSTI will be for women an opportunity to fight poverty, but also a guarantee for the health of the mother and the child in case of pregnancy.
Moreover, joining RSTI will not only strengthen the resilience of women in the face of social risks, but also their credibility towards banking and microfinance institutions.
This is why I would like to invite all FAFCI beneficiaries, to seize the new opportunity offered by the RSTI scheme, in order to benefit from a social coverage in line with to their condition.
To this effect, I would like to thank the Director General of the CNPS who accepted to register FAFCI women+in this social program for. I am very touched.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At this stage of my speech, I would like to thank all the FAFCI partners, who have accompanied us since 2012, for the empowerment of women and the improvement of their families living conditions.
I would like to extend my special thanks to BACI and to microfinance institutions parteniering with us for the quality of their collaboration. Your efforts contribute to ensure the sustainability of FAFCI.
For this new project, I reiterate my thanks to Minister Adama Kamara, as well as to the Director General of the CNPS and I encourage them to do their utmost to achieve the objective of this program on behal of women
Thank you.
