Meet a Loan Officer
18 March 2008 at 15:17 alecintanzania 3 comments
Loan officers are an integral part of the microfinance process. Without the hard work of loan officers, reaching the poor with financial services would not be possible. However, loan officers typically do not get very much attention. With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting for you to meet a friend of mine at YOSEFO to help give you a better understanding of how loan officers fit into the microfinance process.
At YOSEFO, each loan officer is assigned a community center. There are 13 centers serviced by the Dar es Salaam branch scattered throughout the urban area, primarily in poorer communities. During the week, each loan officer travels to their community center to have sessions with their clients. Each session consists of 40 clients, so loan officers typically meet with at least 400 clients every week. While conducting the community banking centers they collect repayments, disburse loans, and deal with issues that clients are facing. After traveling to the field, officers return to the YOSEFO office to record and process the transactions that took place throughout the day. The process can be tedious, but is crucial to ensure that collections, disbursements and defaults are recorded with the greatest possible accuracy.
Name: James Mwenda
Age: 27
Hometown: Njombe, Tanzania (Iringa Region)
YOSEFO Center: Vituka
Educational background: B.A. Geography and Environment
Favorite food: Ugali and Beef
Interests: Football, Traveling, Seeing new places, Singing, Gospel music
Future plans: I hope to return to University and obtain an M.B.A. in Human Resources Management
On working as a loan officer:
“Working as a loan officer is a challenging, but rewarding experience. I work with a very diverse group of clients that have different backgrounds and characteristics. My clients all respond to issues differently, and so it is often a challenge to learn how to deal with each client appropriately.
Not long after clients receive loans, I am able to observe improvements in their standard of living. It is not difficult to see actual physical improvements in my client’s live as a result of receiving loans. For example, some of my clients have been able to pay school fees for their children, and others have been able to purchase land for the first time. It is also rewarding to see my client’s ability to pay back loans improve over time as they graduate to larger and larger loans. Ultimately, working as a loan officer gives me the opportunity to learn the process of community development. I am able to actively organize and spearhead social development in the community.”
Entry filed under: KF4 (Kiva Fellows 4th Class), Tanzania, Youth Self Employment Foundation (YOSEFO). Tags: Alec Lovett.
1. Lynn | 7 June 2008 at 04:35
It was very nice to read about Mr. Mwenda, James. Tanzania has such very capable people. Hopefully one day they won’t need to rely on expatriate help.
Tanzanians are the true experts there and it must be very rewarding to be helping their own country people in such a noticeable way.
The brain drain from these countries is huge because people like Mr. Mwenda have so much to offer. Credit to Mr. Mwenda for working hard to improve the situation of people in his country.
Lynn
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3. Katie | 20 March 2008 at 04:49
Hi Alec! I just wanted you to know that I really enjoy reading your blogs and look forward to more! I’m in the process of applying to the fellows program with hopes of arriving in Dar mid-July of 2008. How long are you there for? Your stories sound so exciting and I really hope that you are enjoying yourself. I know that things must be very busy but if you have any free time I would love to hear more about your transition… especially learning the language. Has it been very difficult? Did you know any Swahili before you left? Thank you very much for continuing to post! Take care and great job