Savings, a lever in the fight against poverty October 26, 2026

The Professional Association of Microfinance Institutions (APIM) and the Directorate of Microfinance and Financial Inclusion jointly organized a hiking trip this Sunday, October 25. The activity was an opportunity for the Minister of Microfinance and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Alioune Dione, to recall the importance of savings in the fight against poverty and financing development.

Organized as a prelude to International Savings Day, scheduled for October 31, the hike organized by microfinance stakeholders served as a pretext to return to the fight against poverty by protecting households against economic shocks and by further financing development. According to them, savings must be made a lever for financial inclusion. According to the Minister, Dr Alioune Dione, this initiative aims to raise awareness among populations on the importance of savings in accordance with the guidelines of the financial inclusion policy initiated by the public authorities. The minister also expressed his desire to see the financial education of households strengthened to enable them to make better use of their resources, to better anticipate urgent expenses and to cope with unforeseen events. “We cannot promote development if there is no savings,” argued the minister.

Returning to the theme of this annual edition, “Saving today to secure tomorrow: savings at the heart of financial inclusion and economic resilience”, Dr Alioune Dione estimated that this approach helps reduce the vulnerability of households and fight against poverty. Still according to him, for many organizations in the social and solidarity economy, the difficulties are not only related to access to financing, but also to a lack of financial education. He also underlined that saving is already a practice anchored in the habits of the populations, notably through tontines and village savings and credit associations (AVEC).

Djibril NDIAYE