In the Democratic Republic of Congo, alongside its support for entrepreneurs (providing equipment, training, etc.), Louvain Coopération has launched a complementary approach known as Mutual Solidarity Funds (MuSo for short).
As their name suggests, these are collective savings funds. MuSo are groups of people who freely associate and regularly pay a fixed contribution in order to build up a common capital. This capital is then used to grant loans to members on the basis of a democratic decision-making process. Similar to traditional tontines, MuSo differ in that they have a triple fund.
The green fund consists of the capital used to grant microloans to members of the mutual society. Most often, loans are used for the development of economic activities (purchase of equipment, seeds, etc.).
But everyday life can sometimes play nasty tricks. In the event of illness, theft or death, unforeseen expenses arise. To help their members through these difficult times, the Mutual Solidarity Funds have created a red fund. This is an emergency fund that provides non-repayable assistance in the event of an emergency or a serious and unforeseen event. Here too, decisions are taken by a vote of all contributing members.
To strengthen the viability of the MuSo, Louvain Coopération initiated their unionisation. In this way, each mutual society contributes to the union of mutual societies. These contributions feed into a third fund, the blue fund. This means that in particularly difficult situations, if funds run out (village affected by a natural disaster, crops compromised, etc.), the MuSo can draw on emergency financial assistance from the blue fund.
The MuSo are now a real success, with more than 500,000 members, two-thirds of whom are women. The green funds alone have accumulated nearly €1 million in savings. They demonstrate that pooling resources, accompanied by solid methodological support, is an effective solution to food and economic security problems.