Advans Côte d’Ivoire is a microfinance institution dedicated to providing financial services to people underserved by the traditional banking ecosystem. Since its founding in 2012, Advans has grown to serve more than 250,000 clients across Côte d’Ivoire, with 100 billion CFA francs in outstanding credits as of 2025. The institution’s vision is to offer financial services aligned to the needs of entrepreneurs and families in a sustainable and responsible way, combining proximity and innovation.
In this interview, Marketing & Communication Manager Simone Adingra N’Doh shares the institution’s approach to serving Women’s Markets.
Alliance: For the benefit of our global audience, can you please briefly describe Advans’s mission and role in the Côte d’Ivoire ecosystem?
N’Doh: Advans Côte d’Ivoire is a microfinance institution which aims to provide financial services to people underserved by the classic ecosystem. We have several offers: loans, deposits, mobile banking, and more. We have been on the market since 2012.
Alliance: What is the context of women’s financial inclusion in Côte d’Ivoire? How does Advans promotes women’s economic empowerment in the country?
N’Doh: Women in Côte d’Ivoire face different obstacles to financial independence: cultural bias, illiteracy, self-confidence, and more. We believe that women create change in society. A woman touched or transformed means a whole family reality that changes. So for the past few years, we have been offering tailored solutions for women, both for credit and deposits.
Alliance: Which customer segments among women are you prioritizing, and what tailored value propositions (financial and non-financial services) do you offer or are you considering offering to them?
N’Doh: Our target is to reach micro and small entrepreneur women. Our value proposition is well-crafted and tailored specifically for micro and small businesses. We help micro women manage their business and improve their daily life through accessible and simple services. For small women entrepreneurs, our promise is to help them grow their business and secure their family’s future with fast and accessible services.
Alliance: Youth entrepreneurs (defined as up to age 35) represent a vital part of the current and future economy in your region. Does Advans have a strategy to support their financial growth, entrepreneurship, and access to opportunities—especially for young women?
N’Doh: We offer digital solutions for young people: mobile banking, and a dedicated app. These solutions help us simplify and enhance our customers’ experience. We want women to feel more comfortable with technology for better financial inclusion. In addition, we have accounts with flexible terms; these are well designed for young people.
Alliance: Digital financial services played a major role in expanding women’s access to formal financial services, particularly those in the “last mile”. How is Advans leveraging technology to reach and impact women?
N’Doh: We have in our portfolio digital services for women. However, women in our country are still facing challenges accessing technology: illiteracy, access to smartphones, security trust problems. Despite all this, we believe that with time and by continuing the initiatives undertaken by our institution, we will be able to significantly reduce the digital divide.
Alliance: Collecting and analyzing sex-disaggregated data is critical to understanding and growing Women’s Markets programs at banks. Where is Advans in its gender data journey, and how are you using this information to design or refine your offerings?
N’Doh: We understand that data is crucial for tracking performance and achieving better results. We carefully analyze our sales performance from a gender perspective. We want to go further and automatically and systematically generate gender-disaggregated data in the short term.
Alliance: Why did you decide to join the Financial Alliance for Women, and what are you most looking forward to learning from or sharing with the network?
N’Doh: We are convinced that our mission of financial inclusion relies particularly on women. Therefore, we are open to sharing experiences with other institutions or experts who are comfortable with gender issues and women’s rights.
