Abstract
In his book Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle against World Poverty, Muhammad Yunus, a Microfinance pioneer wrote: “I never intended myself to be a banker”. In 2006 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements through the Grameen Banks to alleviate global poverty. Today, Microfinance is used around the world and helps poor people to find a source of revenue through some small loans they get. In a world where the banks only deal with qualified people, Microfinance Institutions strongly contribute to letting low-income people feel themselves as a part of the financial system. In Burkina Faso for instance, microfinance is used by the authorities to heighten the banking rate and to promote savings habits among low-income populations. Through this work, we took advantage of the microfinance success in Burkina Faso to propose an education savings program for the low-income families. Burkina Faso is one of the countries with the lowest education rate. The enrolment rate in the higher education represents only 3.5% of the college age population. Although some local banks and insurance companies have proposed some education-related financial services to ensure greater market penetration and help parents finance their children’s education, these services are not affordable for the low-income people. They (services) only profit people qualified to use the banking services. To tackle the problem, we suggested the Micro Educational Savings Account (MESA) which is an education savings account more suitable for low-income people who are the majority in Burkina Faso. Beside the target market, the MESA project also contributes to: Promoting savings habits in the low-income population in Burkina Faso Helping the relevant authorities to stimulate academic excellence through the government financial assistance granted to the subscribers on the basis of their children’s (beneficiaries) academic results. The MESA project is the first education savings program designed for low-income families in Burkina Faso. Its implementation involves Microfinance Institutions and the government because the MESA is a project of national interests. Our simulations have produced lower estimated required monthly payments than those required by the existing services. To ensure greater penetration in the target market and make the MESA project a success, we made diverse recommendations regarding its implementation.