The Partnership for Mobilizing Savings and Credit in Senegal (PAMECAS)

The Partnership for Mobilizing Savings and Credit in Senegal (PAMECAS) began its operations in 1995, over two decades ago, with technical assistance from Développement International Desjardins (DID) and funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The idea was to foster the emergence of financial institutions in peri-urban areas, where the majority of the population is excluded from the traditional financial system. The challenge was to leverage Canadian expertise in this area and combine it with that of young Senegalese people to create an instrument for economic and social development in a context of devaluation and extreme poverty.

By 1999, nineteen (19) savings and credit cooperatives had been established. To ensure the sustainability and professionalization of these young, independent organizations, UM-PAMECAS (Union of Mutuals of the Partnership for the Mobilization of Savings and Credit in Senegal) was created. It is a decentralized financial system (DFS) governed by Law 2008-47 of September 3, 2008, and approved under number DKL.99.0001.U. dated March 8, 1999.

UM-PAMECAS’s primary mission is to:

• Support the sustainable and profitable development of its affiliated members;
• Protect the interests of its members and promote the achievement of their objectives;
• Provide its members with a range of shared services;
• Organize financial solidarity within the organization.

UM-PAMECAS, as the umbrella organization, acts as a supervisory, regulatory, coordinating, and representative body for the benefit of its affiliated members, in accordance with applicable regulations.