Pacifique Ndagano, the man behind SMICO

The maternal spark: from a personal ordeal to a vocation

To understand Pacifique’s commitment, one must look back to his roots in the Great Lakes region. A young Congolese man who grew up in Bukavu, he was educated at the prestigious Jesuit college Alfajiri, before building up a solid academic background ranging from applied computer science to financial management, later enriched by stints at the Frankfurt School and HEC Paris.

Yet the real driving force behind his ambition is not to be found in economics textbooks. “My mum was a shopkeeper,” he says with emotion. After his father’s death, she fought tirelessly to fund her children’s education, juggling informal tontine schemes and enduring constant pressure from debt collectors. Witnessing this precariousness at such close quarters sparked a deep-seated calling within him: he would dedicate his career to facilitating access to finance for those who need it most.

Far from being parachuted into a management role, he climbed the ranks one step at a time. Starting out as a simple cashier and loan officer in a savings and credit cooperative, he held every position on the ground before rising to management and executive roles. He then worked in German development cooperation before deciding to return to promote financial inclusion in his own country. When he took the helm at SMICO in 2018, he brought with him this invaluable wealth of experience : technical expertise coupled with a thorough understanding of local realities.

Participatory leadership: ‘The outcome is everyone’s responsibility’

Upon taking the helm at SMICO as CEO, he found a young and motivated team, whom he decided to guide with a very clear management vision. A proponent of collaborative leadership and an attentive listener, he compares his role to that of a football coach: everyone on the pitch must have the opportunity to score goals and contribute to victory.

This inclusive approach has borne spectacular fruit. In seven years, the institution has reached a major milestone, growing from a balance sheet of around $8.5 million to over $45 million today. Under his leadership, SMICO stands out for its modernity and commitment to inclusion, offering a range of digital solutions to overcome physical barriers and contribute sustainably to financial inclusion: a mobile app, a web interface, USSD technology for standard mobile phones, a Visa card, a WhatsApp solution, and direct transfers between SMICO accounts and e-wallets (SMICO Money). The aim is total transparency and a level of agility that has already reduced the time taken to grant credit to seven days, with the ambition of reducing this to three or four days in the near future.

Taking action in the midst of crises: resilience as a way of life

Operating in the microfinance sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and particularly in the east of the country, requires unflagging mental resilience. Pacifique highlights the enormous challenges posed by the lack of infrastructure, a major obstacle given that 65% of the Congolese population lives in rural areas, far from the urban centres where financial services are generally concentrated.

Added to this is chronic and unpredictable instability. The Goma region, where the institution operates, is regularly hit by natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, and by serious health and security crises, such as the conflicts linked to the M23. In the face of these tragedies, Pacifique remains in awe of his clients. He describes a population capable of fleeing a threatened city one day, and returning to rebuild it with the same energy the next. It is to support this extraordinary resilience that SMICO, as a pioneer in its field, also incorporates micro-insurance mechanisms to protect its borrowers’ capital in the event of life’s hardships.

The partnership with BIO: a catalyst for the local economy

Originally founded by Belgian and Congolese entrepreneurs, SMICO has just taken another decisive step forward in its development by securing a $5 million partnership with the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO). For Pacifique, this unprecedented support from a Belgian organisation goes beyond mere financial backing: it is a huge recognition of the social impact and the integrity of his institution.

This strategic funding will enable SMICO to support an ever-growing number of small and medium-sized enterprises, stimulate the national economy and create jobs on a massive scale. A great victory for this young man from Bukavu who, looking back on the journey so far, offers a piece of advice as simple as it is essential to all those who wish to make an impact: “You have to work hard, believe in your project and never give up.”