During the year 2021, the microfinance sector, much like other sectors of the real economy, continued to experience the prolonged effects of the health crisis from 2020. Indeed, while the crisis of 2020 deeply impacted a wide variety of activities, even leading to a complete halt in several of them for several months, significant portions of the population continued to bear the brunt of measures, sometimes stringent, imposed in parallel with the developments in the health situation, maintaining a high fragility of activities with erratic fluctuations. It is within this socio-economic context that our members and our target population found themselves, primarily engaged in the informal sector and very small businesses.
It was therefore necessary for our foundation to provide them with special support and implement new measures to qualify loan requests and provide tailored monitoring for entirely new and specific situations, sometimes deviating from the usual rules. Among the key measures taken, there was a tightening of loan approval conditions, as well as specific measures for monitoring and resolution, with a focus on recovery efforts for particular cases.
Simultaneously, these developments have accompanied the implementation and widespread adoption of payment accounts for the benefit of our clients. In addition to the variety of new services they provide, these accounts offer the possibility of automatic loan installment deductions, thereby reducing cash handling while streamlining collection management. This also brings great flexibility in managing various mass financial flows. Collectively, these developments have translated into new on-the-ground practices, a comprehensive review that clarified and simplified procedures, making them easily accessible for different stakeholders, all facilitated through significant enhancements to the information system.
Despite a challenging context that introduced new risks, the Arrawaj Foundation for Inclusive Finance has implemented measures aimed at mitigating their impact while also laying the groundwork for institutional transformation. Drawing from our expertise in the sector and our ambition as a key player in financial inclusion within our country, these efforts have been undertaken to navigate this landscape.