Ethiopa : AVSF
Microfinance for the poorest. AVSF is a microfinance institution 
(MFI) which was created in 1998 and started its activities in 1999. This MFI has become very popular with the local population because it does not hesitate to grant small loans to extremely poor people (contrary to other urban MFIs who provide financial services to slightly better-off people). Its clients and their families often live from subsistence activities. With the help of AVFS, they are able to overcome that stage and to take up some more sustainable activities. AVFS concentrates its activities in one of the sensitive areas of Addis-Abeba (see: Zoom Microfinance n° 14).
SOS Faim concentrates its efforts mainly on:
- reaching (directly or indirectly) some 67 000 people;
- launching savings services and, eventually, making savings a precondition in granting credits;
- improving living conditions of the clients (health security, education for their children);
- contributing to the development of informal economy in Addis-Abeba.
