Rene Azokli
CEO, PADME
Cotonou, Republic of Benin
Advisor for the International Year of Microcredit 2005
“No one was born poor. One becomes poor.
Poverty is therefore a behavior. Poverty is the result
of a set of collective and individual behaviours.
If poverty is a behaviour, then the fight against
poverty can be effective only if it takes into account
the change of the poor’s behavior. Microcredit
is an effective means to change the poor’s
behavior because it helps boost the entrepreneurial
spirit of poor people. Microcredit is therefore a
powerful tool in the fight against poverty.”
En français
“On ne naît pas pauvre. On le devient.
La pauvreté est donc un comportement. Il est le résultat
d’un ensemble de comportements collectifs et individuels.
Si donc la pauvreté est un comportement, la lutte
contre la pauvreté ne peut être efficace que
si elle prend en compte le changement de comportement des
pauvres. Le microcrédit est un bon moyen de changer
le comportement des pauvres parce qu’il permet de réveiller
et de développer l’esprit d’entreprise
des pauvres. Le microcrédit est donc un puissant outil
de lutte contre la pauvreté.”
René Azokli is Chairperson of Consortium Alafia, the
microfinance network of Benin. He also serves as the Chief
Executive Officer of PADME, a leading microfinance institution
in Benin. He has been with PADME since 1993 and began work
there as a loan officer. He has extensive consulting experience
with local and international organizations on projects to
develop microfinance in Africa. Since 2000, he has been a
member of the Board of Trustees of Women’s World Banking
(WWB), an international microfinance organization. He was
elected to the Board of AFMIN in 2000, and holds the position
of Chair.
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