Tuesday, July 21, 2026, the room of the youth house of Kolondièba was full to crack. White caps, Malian flag, some musical interludes: young people from Bougula, Farako, Kadiana, Kébila, Kolosso, Mena, Nangalasso, Tiongui, Tousseguela and other localities found themselves for the same reason: receive funding.
The account is good: 613 rural youth projects in the Sikasso, Bougouni and Koutiala regions have recently been funded under the FIER II (Professional Training, Integration and Support for Young Rural Entrepreneurship) project, supported by IFAD.
Names behind the numbers
Korotumou Togola received a payment voucher of FCFA 3,909,000. Mariam Sangaré, CFAF 5,000,000. Dramane Diarra, 1,900,000 FCFA. Allasane Diarra, 725,000 FCFA. Soungalo Konaté, a young entrepreneur from Fakola, starts with 523,000 FCFA in his pocket. These are only five out of 613 names, but they all share the same idea: stay in the country rather than go elsewhere to find what Malian land can offer.
Of all the validated files, 480 relate to Income Generation Activities (AGR) and 133 to Rural Microenterprises (MER). Kolondièba has 317 beneficiaries, Kadiolo 153, and Yorosso 144.
The officials were there.
The Prefect of the Kolondièba Circle spoke to remind that this funding is not « a simple distribution of resources » but a dependent investment for the young beneficiaries to make it grow, and why not, to employ in their turn other young people from their locality.
Around him: representatives of the Sikasso Regional Council, the prefects of Fakola and Kadiana, the mayors of the eleven municipalities concerned, the chiefs of technical services, the peasant organizations, and the micro-finance institutions partners (Kafo Jiginew, RMCR, CAECE-Jigisèmè). Several regional and local media also made the trip.
What comes after the ceremony
The objective does not stop at the delivery of cheques. The aim is to anchor these young people in the formal banking system over time. Thanks to the agreements signed with Sikasso microfinance institutions, Project FIER II guarantees, co-finances or facilitates access to suitable credit.
Post-financing monitoring is announced as being rigorous: the technical services of the State and the accompanying structures of the project remain mobilized to supervise the beneficiaries. At the end of his speech, the Prefect simply summarized things: the development of the Malian rural world is now in the hands of his youth. It's her turn.
