By Ndumbe Bell Gaston in Douala
A programme to obtain credit at five times the savings value called Gisele Success has been launched by the CCA bank.
The development which is another way of boosting savings culture and facilitating access to all classes of business, to promote entrepreneurship and excel to become millionaires in two to four years, was announced at a press conference at the CCA bank headquarters auditorium recently by the senior level management team driven by Marguerite Fonkwen Atanga.
Senior Management (panelists) during press conference.
In simple practical terms, it was explained that to obtain automatic credit facility of about FCFA 20 million, a buyam sellam or any othen very small SME must have saved the sum of FCFA 4.125.000 in a period of two years for a start and could be stretched to a period of four years depending on the income of the holder.
The savings account is actually opened with the amount of FCFA 40.000 and the undertaker is to make a monthly savings deposit into his or her account of FCFA 171.000 in a two-year period or must pay FCFA 80.000 when it is convient in four years.
Answering to questions whether a certain class of business people may face discrimination because of their income levels, the two assistant managing Directors and Marguerite Fonkwen Atanga speaking with one voice said “the salary level of workers (or scale) may be low but we have others in the informal sector who sell tomatoes, groundnuts and so on who educate children, build dwellings and so on because they belong to Njangis (tontins) where they are contributing some FCFA 100.000 a month. So the Gisele Success is not limited to civil servants or so.”
Marguerite Fonkwen Atanga continued that there are people who earn FCFA 1 million a month, FCFA 300.000 a month and do not save even one franc because it is not in the mindset and behaviour of the public. “It is not because one is from a poor background that you surrender to poverty. So, CCA staff are there to mentor their customers to success. To boost your savings, it needs discipline, determination, commitment and regularity. It is all about fulfilling your dreams, so you have to make serious sacrifices to be eligible to obtain two times, three times or four or five times what you save”, she said.
All the panelists and moderators speaking with one voice always referred to the Gisele Success programme as the very story that embodies the origin and success of the CCA bank in which all of the more than 800 direct workforces are benefitting from. So, they want everyone to tap from that positive magical success /story.
According to the narrative of the Managing Director, Marguerite Fonkwen Atanga, taken from the speech of the Founder and Board Chair of CCA bank, Albert Kemla during the inauguration ceremony of their edifice on October 19 2024, the Chair was originally struggling, looking for an amount of money to invest in a dream cooperative firm and encountered so many disappointments. The amount he was actually looking for to take off the project was FCFA 4.125.000. In brief, he didn’t know that his wife, Gisele Kemla, his loved one was the solution! She gave up her quest of opening a shop with the money that she had been keeping aside as savings for the investment and decided to join the husband. This was the motivation for the business.
The Managing Director narrated that since 1996 or 1997, the money and the business kept on growing until it has reached a whooping FCFA 830 to FCFA 844 billion where all of them are workers and tapping from that amazing blessing. Hence, they decided to create this programme.
The beneficiaries of the Gisele success may come from segments such as individuals engaged in independent activities with an annual turn-over of less than FCFA 20 million; individuals wishing to develope a complementary business; skilled professionals wishing to expand their business or become self-employed; people seeking opportunities to maximise their returns; innovative individuals seeking support to bring their ideas to life inspired by the success model of CCA bank, including people wishing to capitalise on their savings or activities to join the programme.
The minimum loan amount is FCFA 4 million. The maximum loan amount is FCFA 20 million. Repayment duration is from 12, 24, or 36 months. Financing is only available after accumulating saving of FCFA 4.125.000.