First partnership of its kind for health businesses

USAID and AccèsBanque officially launched a partnership to encourage health businesses and practitioners across Madagascar to seek out loans to grow their businesses.

“This partnership represents the first effort of its kind to increase lending to health businesses in Madagascar,” said Michelle Godette, USAID mission director in Madagascar.

With support from SHOPS Plus, AccèsBanque provides private providers with loans to support investments and working capital requirements. Recipients include clinics, doctors, health centers, hospitals, laboratories, medical practices, midwives, nurses, and pharmacies. 

Increasing access to finance is important for the private health sector as it can help expand services, augment the range of services, improve quality, and foster sustainability.

SHOPS Plus is helping this partnership bear fruit in several ways. The project team works with the bank to design a health business loan product, training bank staff in the unique lending needs of health businesses, secure and use a Development Credit Authority guarantee, and generate leads for private health care providers that require financing. AccèsBanque has disbursed more than 40 loans, two of which are backed by the Development Credit Authority guarantee.

Working with providers, SHOPS Plus offers training to strengthen health businesses and improve their chances of securing bank loans. By December 2016, the project had trained 50 providers.