Apex study of the small enterprise development program of Catholic Relief Services Senegal

This study draws on the experience of the Asociacion Grupos Solidarios de Colombia (Association of Solidarity Groups of Colombia) in creating apex organizations, which was documented in the apex study of the same name (PN-ABL-270). The study is divided into four main sections. The first section presents a brief description of the SED program, the village bank methodology it employs, and the organizations that implement it. It also describes the main program accomplishments, strengths, and weaknesses to date. Tho second section analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of expanding through apex organizations that already exist. The section also outlines the different issues involved in creating an apex institution to support the expansion of village banking programs in Senegal. The third section presents the main conclusions of the study, and the fourth proposes an apex organization model for the CRS/SED program in Senegal. The model covers specific components such as the organizational and administrative structure, management information systems, services to be provided, staffing needs, and financial sustainability. It also proposes expansion strategies based on the abilities of partner institutions to implement the program, the methodology to be used, support systems available to the program, and geographic saturation. (Author abstract)