Evaluation Summary - Procredit – Upscaling to mesofinance

In Ghana, for the “Finance” sector, the grant to support the upscaling of ProCredit to mesofinance in order to develop its offer of loans to Small and medium enterprises (SME) was subject to an evaluation in April 2018.

The project aimed at contributing to the economic development and poverty reduction in Ghana by increasing access of SMEs to finance. SME loans were so far underserved by the financial institutions of the country. This required a development of know-how through training and technical assistance.

The project was highly relevant and exceeded all expectations in terms of its performance. The number of SME loans at the end of the project had greatly risen, ProCredit had set up a specialized desk and created know-how that other financial institutions started trying to poach. The implementation of the project conformed to the budget and respected the work plan. The project is deemed sustainable as SME loans are now an integral part of the institution’s activities. The evaluation revealed however that institutional reorganizations can have a negative impact on portfolios and identified SME sectors that carry a greater risk than others.