FR
Poverty is not Destiny
ECHOPPE empowers individuals to build their own solutions for economic improvement and social growth to build a future without poverty
Empowering Entrepreneurs
For over 35 years, ECHOPPE has been supporting individuals in building initiatives for economic improvement and social growth in several parts of Africa, particularly Togo and Benin.
ECHOPPE is a French word meaning shop or kiosk, like a street vendor. In French, it also stands for Exchange for the Organization and the Promotion of Small Entrepreneurs – those working in said shops.
400,000+
Women have had a first loan with Echoppe in Togo, over 35 years
2015
ECHOPPE in Togo became entirely self-funded and autonomous that year
6000
Trees planted per year within local communities, contributing to reversing deforestation.
200+
Farmers currently participate in the Planète Paysans program, covering about 200 hectares of land
A Commitment to Autonomy and Biodiversity
At ECHOPPE, we believe success means handing the keys to the community, so they can continue building independent, locally run organisations. The social micro-finance non-profit ECHOPPE-Togo completed that path in 2015, allowing us to work new areas, while still partnering on common goals.
Today, ECHOPPE works primarily with small farmers through a program called Planète Paysans (Planet Farmers) to alleviate poverty and physical pain, through the introduction of tractors into the field work, beekeeping, and agroforestry. It has worked to create services for building autonomy and for bio-diversity and reforestation. It has helped create a unity of neem oil production and distribution in order to diminish the use of harsh chemical pesticides.
ECHOPPE meets people where they are, helping them by supporting their ingenuity and determination. It not only reaches people untouched by broader interventions, but also has the greatest impact for the resources invested.
The importance of the work is to fight the rural exodus in order to encourage an agriculture that is capable of nourishing its peoples and paid at a just price.
ECHOPPE: Sharing Expertise Across Africa
Planète Paysans is there to serve the smallest and thus does not cultivate lands of non-resident land owners.
Over the years ECHOPPE leaders have been invited to the following African countries to share the ECHOPPE experience: Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Bénin, and Niger.
