ADA, with the aid of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, has set up a response programme to help its partners get through the crisis. This programme offers them the possibility of receiving a grant, on the one hand, to finance technical assistance to design and implement the solutions needed to adapt to the context created by the epidemic and, on the other hand, to finance the purchase of health equipment or computer to facilitate the continuity of their activities.

Given the impact of the epidemic on the economy in general and on low-income populations in particular, our partners need to adapt as their resources are dangerously depleted.

It is in this perspective that, with the agreement of the Luxembourg Cooperation, ADA has designed and started the implementation of a new programme by reallocating the budget of the projects postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis. A total of EUR 1 million has been mobilised to finance this programme, which provides for :

• A grant to finance the purchase of products or equipment to facilitate responsible business continuity (masks and disinfectants), remote communication or teleworking ;
• A grant to finance emergency technical assistance to enable organisations to define and implement the necessary measures to ensure the continuity of their activities and the protection of their staff and clients;
• A grant to finance technical assistance for business resumption with advice on repositioning strategy, new product development or implementation of digital solutions among others.

At the same time, ADA has developed and made available a whole set of tools for the sector:

• Guidance Note for MFIs
• Toolkit for defining a business continuity plan
• Support to build scenarios and perform liquidity gap analysis
• Guide on deadlines extension for MFIs in WAEMU

A call for proposals was launched on 20 April. ADA's partner networks, in particular REDCAMIF in Central America, MMFA, CMA, MFA in Asia facilitated the dissemination of the call and the gathering of applications. A selection committee has been set up. Priority was given to Tier 2 and 3 MFIs that follow good practices in terms of transparency and pursue a strong social mission. For support and technical assistance, ADA offers a list of several dozen experts, partly from its team of project managers and partly from the consultants with whom it is used to working.

In total, ADA received 115 applications of which 80 were accepted for an amount of EUR 1 023 000, of which 60% was for the purchase of materials and equipment and 40% for technical assistance.

• In Africa: 26 applications were granted for an amount of EUR 331 000
• In Asia: 17 applications were granted for EUR 175 000
• In Latin America: 37 applications were granted for a total of EUR 516 000

Among the beneficiaries there are 23 MFIs financed by LMDF, the investment fund advised by ADA.

The crisis response programme has therefore been a real success. The feedback received from partners-beneficiaries confirm this. The next steps therefore will be the follow-up and implementation of technical assistance plans, which we hope will enable as many of ADA's partners as possible to overcome the crisis.