Making Financing Accessible to Artisanal Gold Mining Communities

Sep 27, 2023 | IMPACT
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There are an estimated 15 million artisanal gold miners globally. Yet, many miners are excluded from the financial sector. They are often unable to access financing from microcredit or financial institutions and are unbanked altogether. This leaves them dependent on informal sources of financing—including informal traders buying their gold. Access to financing, such as through community savings groups, helps break the link to illicit trade and serves as an important entry point to conflict resolution and peacebuilding by supporting solidarity among members.

Responsible sourcing initiatives must incorporate access to financing for actors in the artisanal gold supply chain to support efforts towards formalization and legal trade. Register now to hear findings from IMPACT’s report, Financing the Unbanked: How Community Savings Groups Can Create Pathways for Legal Artisanal Gold in Burkina Faso, and explore how models for access to financing can be applied to contexts around the globe.

Interpretation in English and French available.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

10:00-11:30am EDT | 2:00-3:30pm GMT | 4:00-5:30pm CEST

Register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vp1O7l2nSeaOk2xwmf9M0w

Speakers:

Désiré Nikiema, Burkina Faso National Coordinator for Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) (FR)

  • Reality of ASM communities, gap between where communities are and if they can access financing structure, far from accessing formal banking structures – link to social cohesion

Kady Seguin, Policy & Research Director (EN) and Hamado Derra, Burkina Faso Focal Point with IMPACT (FR)

  • Key findings of the report & specifically how financing is necessary part of formalization (REAFECOM, Digging for Equality, etc) Community savings groups are for the lowest/average miners, many still can’t access other forms, results from DRC, Burkina promising – link to social cohesion & gender

Susan Keane, planetGOLD Global Coordinator (EN)

  • Why access to financing is such an important part of formalization, how different global contexts are integrating this into their programs, and differences between contexts

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