Posts filed under ‘KF8 (Kiva Fellows 8th Class)’
BOOM! housing (a case for housing loans)
By Cameron Morris KF8, Mozambique
Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe, right? Well, yes and no. Although that text is lifted directly from the about us section of Kiva’s website it doesn’t tell the complete story. If your zeal for Kiva has lead you to spend late nights combing through Kiva loans you may have also noticed loans for housing, education, and personal use. Alas, how is building a home, going to school or buying a refrigerator an entrepreneurial activity. None of these activities are inherently entrepreneurial, but they are all deeply connected to Kiva’s umbrelic mission to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Let me tell you a few things you may not know about the housing market.
Thank You – Beninese Style
By Andrew Whiteman, KF8 in Benin
A view over Dantokpa Market, where many Alidé borrowers sell their goods
One day, I walked into one of Alidé’s offices in Cotonou to work with the loan officers. Right inside the gate, in the outdoor waiting area, I saw about thirty women seated patiently in perfect rows. Everyone was wearing their best pagnes, brilliantly colored Beninese fabrics, so I could tell that it was an important day.
After working for a little while, I started to hear drums and shakers. The sounds were sporatic at first, as if the drummers were warming up for a performance. Soon enough, I heard lively chanting and a quick-paced rhythm. It was very close by. The neighborhood around the office is often noisy, so I assumed that the drumming was coming from some other building. I had to go outside to investigate because the music was too good. Low and behold, the drumming and chanting was coming from the women who I had seen earlier. All of them were dancing and moving to the drumbeat, smiling and having a great time. One woman was leading the rest in front of the group, in a call and response fashion. The space was full of energy. With thirty people dancing their hearts out around you, it is impossible not to want to join in.
I had to ask what all this was about. Drumming and dancing was not something I would have expected from a microfinance institution. An Alidé employee explained to me that these women were part of a women’s group and had all recently been granted Alidé loans. The woman leading everyone in the singing and dancing was the group’s president. They were expressing their gratitude to Alidé for the ability to have access to credit. For some reason, I found it hard to imagine singing and dancing happening in the United States when someone received a loan. Well, I guess maybe these days.
Women’s groups like these are very common in Benin and in the world of microfinance. Their purpose is to help women manage their money. The members help each other sort through the loan policies and to remember to repay each month. In this way, the mutual support and subtle pressure helps prevent borrower default and delinquency. During the meeting I witnessed, the president stood up and spoke very sternly to the group about a few women who had not paid their loans back. Groups like these are responsible in part for the low loan default and delinquency rate on Kiva. Alidé’s clients are about 90 percent women and many are members of such groups.
The singing and dancing soon stopped and everyone took their seats again. Two of the loan officers approached the front of the group and started speaking rapidly in Fon. The Alidé employee sitting next to me told me that the loan officers were now giving a training session on Alidé’s policies. After borrowers are approved for loans, they are required to come to the office to learn all of the necessary information about interest rates, loan terms, and repayments. The loan officers also gave some practical advice. They stressed that the women should discuss their loans with their husbands and take care of their health.
These groups, with the help of loan officers, are helping women to better take control of their lives. Virtually all of Alidé’s borrowers on the Kiva website have received more than one loan from the institution, meaning that they are reliable customers. Each new loan means a little more money, greater inventory at the business, and greater profits. The singing and dancing I witnessed showed me how important the access to credit is to small business owners here in Benin. It was a heartfelt, genuine thank you from people in need. I am convinced that microcredit an important service that can only be expanded to more people. Since witnessing my first Beninese thank you, I have seen several others at Alidé offices. These types of experiences keep me in love with Africa and its rich culture.
Andrew Whiteman is a Kiva Fellow (KF8), currently working at Alidé, a Kiva Field Partner, in Cotonou, Benin.
The Sundance Island: A Photo Essay of Samoa
By Athan Makansi - KF8 – SPBD, Samoa
A picture captures a thousand words. Here are a few thousand words from my past 9 weeks with Kiva Partner South Pacific Business Development in Samoa:
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Beach in Savaii, Samoa
Although poor, Samoa has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Bright, white sand, dotted with fallen coconuts and perfected by the sound of rolling waves make Samoa a good place for vacationers as well as for microfinance.
the Artist and the Artisan
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF8 Peru
What is an artist? What is an artisan? Are they different?
The debate caught my interest when I was walking away from Ayacucho’s Ex-Carcel, a former prison now converted to an artisan market where many of our Kiva borrowers at FINCA Peru work. As I chatted with Jen, a friend of mine and herself an avid student of language, I couldn’t shake something she said. She noted that the term ‘artisan’ often seems more related to poverty or developing nations, whereas the term ‘artist’ seems more attached to an upper-crust society, or simply put, wealth. Her insight got me thinking and researching.
I do not believe the terms have anything the least bit inherent in them that pulls one to poverty or wealth; but it may be a consequence of how we define the terms more generally. Artisans often produce functional goods, and produce a large quantity of the crafts they are good at. Artists, on the other hand, are considered to be those who produce one-of-a-kind-pieces; their livelihood also does not necessarily depend on the production of their works.
A Road Is Paved, A Mall Opens
By Sloane Berrent, KF8, Ahon sa Hirap, Inc, Philippines
A Center Meeting in San Jose, Antique, Philippines.
“How has Ahon sa Hirap, Inc.” (ASHI and my host microfinance institution) “being here in your barangay or in your town helped your community?”
I ask the women from ASHI during each Center meeting that I attend. There are a few variations on this question. I ask how their lives have changed and what the Center means to them.“My husband had a stroke and couldn’t work anymore. I worked as a domestic in town and had to travel very far every day for not a lot of money. I joined ASHI 7 years ago to start a buy and sell fish business so that I could stay closer to home to take care of my husband and help my children.”
“After my husband died, I was so lonely. My children are all grown up and out of the house. I was sad. I joined ASHI 13 years ago and now my life is so different. I laugh. I come here every week to see my friends.”
“My house was very bad and made from old bamboo. When typhoon season came, my family had to run to our neighbors because we were scared our house would collapse. With my ASHI loan, I was able to move my Sari Sari store to a busier corner where workers pass by on their way to the fields. I open at 4AM and close at 8PM but am very happy. Now 10 years later, we now have a house made of stone and we don’t run from the typhoons anymore.”
But has it changed MORE than that? What about an entire town?
I had heard that seeing microfinance in action could be like watching grass grow. So gradual, so slow. How could I say that there is indeed a larger change in the landscape of where microfinance sets up shop?
I turned to the ASHI staff. It was a Saturday night and we were going to go out to dinner together. The two Kiva Coordinators asked me if we could stop in the new local mall that opened so that could grab a few things.
“Sure,” I said. No problem.
We walked to the end of the drive and hopped into a tricycle and took off towards the mall. There was light traffic, the road wasn’t too bumpy, we arrived to throngs of people gathering outside the mall, in the entrance, more teenagers and families gathered.
“This has been huge for our town,” the one Kiva Coordinator said.
(more…)
10 Fellowship Gems
By Cynthia McMurry, KF8 Ecuador
Over the past year, I have learned valuable lessons about life, gotten to know myself better, greatly enriched my understanding of microfinance, observed the workings of the informal economy in Latin America, been touched by many clients’ stories and experiences, and been proud to represent Kiva at four different MFIs in three South American countries.
Some of my favorite moments, though, have absolutely nothing to do with microfinance. They’re little cultural quirks, lifestyle adaptations, or just silly everyday things that make me smile, remember that I am not from here, and cherish the experience that much more.
Some of my favorites:
Best heckle: Anyone who’s as white as me and who has tried to run in public in Latin America knows what it’s like to be heckled. You usually get whistles, catcalls, and hear things like, “Faster!” “Run!” and “ONE two three ONE two three.” After a while you learn not to pay too much attention and to instead focus your energy on watching out for dogs and traffic.
Out running in Trujillo at 7am one morning, a driver stuck his head out the window and yelled “Yuquitas peladas!” (“Little peeled yuccas!”), a metaphorical reference to the whiteness of my legs. By far the most creative heckle ever, plus I’m impressed that he was able to think of it so quickly (especially that early in the morning) and stick his head out of the car window while driving and avoiding traffic mishaps. Kudos. (more…)
Kiva in Liberia – What a Fascinating Country!
This place is like no country I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been fortunate to see over 130 in my 20+ years of adventure travel. (more…)
A Recipe for Adding Value to Microcredit
By Courtney Kemps, KF8 Peru
1 kg of peeled cocona fruits
2 liters of water
450 grams of sugar
10 grams of stabilizer
2 cups of milk
These are the ingredients for making popsicles from cocona, a bright orange-yellow fruit grown in Peru’s jungle region. This recipe was one of four distributed to all who attended a recent workshop on how to make ice cream and other frozen treats sponsored by Manuela Ramos’s Pucallpa office.
In my two months working as a Kiva Fellow with Manuela Ramos in Pucallpa I have had the good fortune to attend two educational workshops designed for the organization’s borrowers. Manuela Ramos takes the educational component of their microfinance program very seriously. Sonia Mamani Gamarra is the full-time education coordinator for the Pucallpa office and is responsible for organizing these monthly workshops as well as the educational sessions given by loan officers at each communal bank’s monthly meeting.
Workshops are planned far in advance of their execution and are taught by specialists in the particular topic being presented. This year’s workshops were designed following a survey of about 60-70% of Manuela’s borrowers, who were asked what they were most interested in learning, the best time and location for workshops, and how long the sessions should last. Some workshops are designed to add value to business ventures that are already common among Manuela Ramos’s borrowers (i.e. home-based restaurants or the sale of beauty products). Others introduce new ideas based on what is likely to sell well in Pucallpa (i.e. ornamental plants or ice cream). Prior workshops have instructed borrowers in cooking (particularly regional dishes), making decorations with recycled materials, doing manicures and pedicures, preparing desserts, and giving makeovers.
In June I joined about 30 borrowers at a plant nursery outside the city where an agronomist taught us how to raise tropical ornamental plants for the house or yard. Participants received detailed instructions about how to grow the plants, make cuttings, treat plant diseases, and produce compost. The classroom portion was followed by an instructive tour of the facility.
Workshop on Growing Ornamental Plants
TLM… hotter than an Indonesian rap song!
by Cissy DeLuca, KF8, Indonesia
When most people think of Indonesia, the first places that usually come to mind are Bali and Jakarta. West Timor may be the last place a person associates with Indonesia. West Timor is part of the NTT province, which is the poorest in Indonesia. That means the people of this area need Kiva lenders the most!
Nestled in the bustling metropolis of Kupang is a humble organization called Tanaoba Lais Manekat. Only posting on Kiva since March 2009, they are rapidly becoming the next big thing in microfinance, Kiva and the world!
I made this video to get all you Kiva lenders as pumped on West Timor and TLM as I am!
Cissy Deluca is a proud member of KF8 working in Indonesia with TLM. Please feel free to join their rapidly growing lending team or follow them on twitter!
The story of a dog, a ghost, and a Kiva Borrower
by Rob Mittelman, KF8, Peru
When I visit Kiva Borrowers, I bring along a colour printout of their Kiva Profile for them to keep. For many of them it’s a real thrill. They knew their information was on the internet but had never seen their page, their picture, or read their own story before (our stories appear in the original Spanish underneath the English translation). It usually gets passed around and shown to all present. There are always lots of giggles and some embarrassment as I tell them people in the US know about their little restaurant, people in Spain know about their market stall, or how someone from Norway is familiar with their handicrafts. Most take very good care of the printout while I’m around. I don’t know where it ends up but I’ve yet to see it folded up, stuffed in a pocket, or left behind.
One of the most exciting parts for them is seeing their Kiva Lenders and where they come from. For most the people reading this blog, that’s you! (more…)
Breastfeeding and Social Responsibility in Microfinance
What if Kiva were to encourage its microfinance partners to include breastfeeding initiation and duration rates in their social performance and responsibility assessments?
Continue Reading 4 August 2009 at 12:48 suearthur 5 comments
A good ol’ fashioned microfinance story
by Milena Arciszewski, KF8
I’m volunteering at Community Economic Ventures, an MFI in the Philippines. Today I prepared a journal update for a Kiva borrower that I liked so much that I’m posting it here, too.
I hope you enjoy it!
To lend to borrowers like Restituta, check out: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=125&status=fundRaising&sortBy=New+to+Old
Milena Arciszewski has a year-long Kiva Fellowship. She has already finished placements in Bosnia and Kenya and is now in her final placement at Community Economic Ventures, Inc. in the Philippines. You can reach her at milena.kathryn@gmail.com.
Grandma’s Question
By: Athan Makansi – KF8 – SPBD, Samoa
A few days ago my grandmother sent me an email:
Athie,
Thank you for your updates. I have really enjoyed reading them. I was wondering, from your experience in Samoa, do you think poverty is a state of mind? Also do you think the women borrowers gain a sense of worth from access to financial services?
Love,
Grandma Nellie
I love you too Grandma, and you got me thinking. So here’s my answer.
Many Samoans do not think of themselves as poor. No one is going hungry (in fact the large girth of Samoans is quite famous) nor is anyone lacking a roof above their head, nor clean(ish) water to drink and bath. As my friend Tui put it, “You can live here without money.” Food is in abundance. For example, in the backyard of my flat there is a coconut tree, a papaya tree, breadfruit tree, wild green beans, and wild cabbage. Similar edibles are plentiful in most backyards throughout Samoa – and I live within the city limits! Families outside the city can grow large plantations of crops. Also, Samoa has an incredibly reliable and generous community system. Everyone looks out for everyone else. If you don’t have a home, a relative or neighbor will take you in. If you have no food, a friend will gladly feed you.
But the UNDP ranks Samoa as one of the 50 poorest countries of the world. As I walk around Samoa I see many manifestations of poverty. Samoans don’t have all the TVs, BMWs, laptops, or other luxuries, that characterize the western world. Many people dressed in faded second hand clothes from developed countries. New clothes are quite expensive for Samoans. Homes are in poor shape –some are infested with termites, some have makeshift walls of tarps and plywood. Samoa has poor health. The Samoan diet consists of very poor quality food. Samoa imports the leftover junk food from New Zealand and Australia. Almost all products are processed and canned. Canned meat, especially corned beef is considered a delicacy. Also, the preferred way of cooking is frying. For such a small population, Samoa must go through a record amount of cooking oil. Samoans suffer from diabetes, obesity and heart problems. Moreover, their quality of healthcare is quite poor. Often, Samoans wait for hours and hours in line for their appointment. Doctors’ pay, comparative to Western societies, is very little. Samoa definitely lacks the benefits of a developed country.
Kiva Fellows in DeNile
By Jaclyn Berfond, Laura Buhler, Alison Carlman, Joel Carlman and Cameron Morris
Last weekend the East African Kiva Fellows delegation descended upon the bustling streets of Kampala, Uganda and the banks of the Nile River for two days of intense knowledge transfer and mild revelry. We spent hours discussing the importance of data validity in performing operational cost analyses and tried to debunk the myth that OpenOffice does not properly save .csv files for uploading repayment information to PA2. We also had a little fun. We left Kampala feeling refreshed and full of ideas to take back to our MFIs.
Now it’s your turn. We are officially issuing a challenge to the other regions (LAC, Asia, Western Africa and Eastern Europe) to prove that you are as united and have as much regional spirit as the East Africans. Excuses will not be tolerated. As Kiva Fellows this is a challenge you should be ready to take on. We did it, so can you. We also made an amazing video documenting our adventure. Check it out!
Jaclyn, Laura, Alison, Joel and Cameron are Kiva Fellows spread out over the East African Region. To read more about their experiences and their MFIs click on their names above.
Visiting clients who are artisans
Over the course of my Kiva fellowship with DINARI Foundation – Bali, I have had the chance to meet clients who engage in various kinds of business activities. I’ve met small shopkeepers who shrug matter-of-factly when they tell me that their main source of revenues come from cigarettes, I’ve met pig farmers who have been able to rattle off stud fees, gestation periods and prices per kilogramme over the last few months, and I’ve met incredibly hardworking people who sort through trash in order to collect recyclables, who are often shunned because of the way they smell.
I enjoy listening to all their stories. But my favourite clients to visit, by far, have been artisans, because it’s so much fun watching them at work. I’d like to share two videos I took of clients who were kind enough to demonstrate the art of making leather wristbands and of making a traditional Balinese offering on video.
“Say Cheese…I mean, Whiskey!”
By: Nilima Achwal, KF8, Bolivia
While taking pictures throughout Bolivia of Kiva clients, colleagues, and friends, I’ve noticed a theme. Most people don’t smile. No matter if it’s a jolly loan officer who loves his job, the cleaning girl that always peers curiously over my shoulder at my laptop and brings me mate de coca, or good friends hanging out after work. The second I take out my camera, in fact, the second before I click the shutter, the grins vanish. Ironically (and maddeningly), the second the flash is out, the subject in question almost always smiles or laughs.
Glad Kiva has partner MFIs like Zene za Zene (International)
Although I have seen some of the obstacles of microfinance, I am encouraged by ZzZ’s determination to continue succeeding. Despite the problematic situations, ZzZ is outstanding in terms of its work with Kiva, and the Kiva borrowers I have met are all hardworking and earnest women. I hope that my Kiva Fellowship will help ZzZ (International) gain a bigger presence on Kiva.org and that they will post more loans in the future. You could show your support by joining the Lending Team “Friends of Women for Women International”!
Continue Reading 31 July 2009 at 05:09 LovingKiva 3 comments
A Small Step Forward
Like most of Africa, Benin’s education system is riddled with problems. Its educational woes start at the primary level. The main language of instruction in Benin is French. Educational resources written in Beninese languages hardly exist. Therefore, children whose native language is Fon or Yoruba have to learn material while trying to understand a new language. This problem is particularly evident in the rural north of Benin. As a friend of mine said to me, it would help if more students started school in their native language and gradually transitioned to French. But this is a long-term goal.
Students must pass two national exams in order to graduate from high school; however, the pass rate of both exams is very low. The first is the BEPC, Brevet d’etudes du premier cycle, taken at age fourteen. Then students take the Baccalaureate, or Bac, at the end of high school. When you visit Benin’s national education website and scroll through Bac results, it is startling how few students pass. Because entry into the few national universities is guaranteed to students who pass the Bac, the exam is very difficult. Therefore, many students struggle repeatedly just to pass high school. Even smart, dedicated students have trouble moving to the next level. Many are simply unprepared to advance.
Unfortunately, things are far from ideal even for those who are lucky enough to pass the Bac and go on to university. Cotonou is the only major economic center in Benin and few jobs exist even for the brightest of the bright. It is no wonder that everyone wants to move to Europe or the United States. Imagine how frustrating it must be to graduate at the top of your class and have no opportunities to use your talents. Many are also frustrated by visa requirements and a lack of fluency in English.
And yet, despite the odds, education remains an important priority for people in Benin. I was sitting at a hotel lobby a few weeks ago, watching TV. The hotel manager came running into the room and asked if he could change the channel. The BEPC results were set to come out that day and they were to be announced on TV. Judging by his excitement, I imagine that he had a child or another close relative who had recently taken the exam. Soon enough, more people trickled into the room and we watched the results together. It was obviously a big day in Benin.
Education is the starting block for progress and success anywhere. It is how people get ahead in life. People in Benin, like anywhere, want to get an education and succeed. But without a well-established, functioning system, people have to look for any work they can find. That’s why so many people are selling the same goods along the side of the road; they do whatever they can to survive. This is where Alidé and other microfinance institutions can help. By offering loans, microfinance institutions are teaching people how to manage their money. I have witnessed many training sessions during which loan officers explained interest rates, repayments, and loan terms. This is important information to know. Also, the access to credit gives people the opportunity to innovate and be more successful. With the help of a loan or two, a vender might be able to sell a new product and to increase sales. It might give someone else more time to study for a test. It is a small step, but an important one. As well, how could microcredit be used to further expand educational opportunities? Could microcredit function as a source for student loans?
There is no simple answer to correcting large problems in education and economics. Benin, Africa, and the whole developing as a whole will all hopefully become more prosperous in the future, but it will likely take a long time. A lot of work needs to be done to address huge problems. If anything, the importance placed on education in Benin is a good sign for its future. In the meantime, we can continue to support the financial system, which is helping people to learn money management and to improve their standard of living. Many borrowers in Benin rely on Kiva lenders for funding and we have the unique opportunity to help provide assistance.
Andrew Whiteman is a Kiva Fellow (KF8), currently working at Alidé, a Kiva Field Partner, in Cotonou, Benin.
Obama-rama in Ghana!
Hotel Obama
By Nancy Tuller
KF8, Cape Coast, Ghana, Africa
I knew President Obama was going to visit Ghana even before I came here, and was excited to think that perhaps on some off-chance I might meet him. Ha! After completing my first placement as a Kiva Fellow in the regional capital of Kumasi, I arrived in the country’s capital, Accra, on July 8th, and Obama arrived the next day on July 9th. I went to several hotels and all were fully booked. My taxi driver suggested a new hotel called, (guess what!) Hotel Obama! Only in Africa! It was actually a very cool hotel owned by a Ghanaian family who had lived in New Jersey for some years, and had returned to start up this hotel. Each room was named for someone. There was, of course, the Barack Obama suite, the Michelle Obama room next door to it, and the Joe Biden room across from it. I stayed in the Coretta Scott King room that was right next to the Martin Luther King room. There was beautiful African art work on the walls and there was a good restaurant attached. And, I was definitely in good company! It rained hard that next day, and I didn’t even know Obama’s schedule, so I went about my business in the capital city of Accra, including buying my bus ticket for Cape Coast, where my second Kiva placement would begin the following Monday.
The next day I left for Cape Coast. (more…)
Microentrepreneurs and Maxipads
By Alison Carlman, KF8, Kenya
Consider yourself warned: this blog talks about maxipads. There. I said it. Now please keep reading.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the “Girl Effect” campaign. The “Girl Effect” is a about investing in what Africans call the “girl child” and how that can affect a country’s development. According to The Girl Effect, an extra year in primary school statistically boosts girls’ future wages by 10% to 20%, and every additional year a girl spends in secondary school lifts her income by 15% to 25%. And you better believe that the size of a country’s economy is, in no small part, determined by the educational attainment and skill sets of its girls. For Kenya alone, if the 1.6 million teenage girls who drop out of school each year instead finished their secondary education, their incremental earning power would lift Kenya’s GDP by $27 billion over their lifetimes. Not to MENTION the impact it would have on the health and well-being of future families and children of these girls-turned-women.
But it’s not that easy just to “stay in school.” The girls I work with in Kisumu at K-MET’s Safe Space have dropped out of school, many because they became mothers during their teen years.
A Safe Space Member Working to Start a Tailoring Business
I’ve talked a little with these girls, and have learned some other things about why it is so difficult to stay in school. I learned that something as simple as “sanitary towels” (or maxipads -there, I said it again-) can make the difference whether or not girls miss 4 days of school each month and get hopelessly behind in their studies. These products are too expensive to purchase every month, and the alternative is to use unsafe materials (like chopped up pieces of mattresses or old newspapers) which cause infections, leading to more absenteeism.
Look – I realize that you didn’t check the Kiva blog to read about sanitary products. But aren’t you at least slightly incensed by the fact that the lack of these simple supplies keep girls and women from attending school, attending public meetings, or even operating their own businesses for 4 days every month?!
When the Local Currency Falls, Microfinance Suffers
It has to be a devastating feeling to wake up one morning to find that 20% of your savings have vanished into thin air through no fault of your own. Unfortunately, that’s the reality that developing countries often have to deal with when their country’s financial systems are unable to keep the control over the value of their currency.
When I completed my Kiva Fellows placement in Tajikistan in early April, the local currency there was at around 3.80 Somoni to 1 USD. But something odd started to happen in the weeks to come. Somoni suddenly started to slide down and accelerated in May, until it hit its bottom on May 29th at 4.44 Somoni to 1 Dollar.
In other words, dollars suddenly became 17% more expensive compared to just 2 months earlier. Or 29% more expensive since the beginning of the year – just six months earlier.
Who’s Feeling the Impact?
What Happens When an MFI Grows Up?
Tamara Sanderson, KF8, Mongolia
Once upon a time, two NGOs named “the Golden Fund for Development” and “Gobi Start” came together to form their own commercial bank with a social mission. They decided to name themselves “the right bank,” with the hope that Mongolians could repay. Although all odds were against this new bank, it prospered at a time of economic uncertainty in Mongolia after the collapse of the Socialist system and overarching bankruptcy in the financial sector. Eight years later, this initiative has resulted in the largest microfinance bank in Mongolia and a role model for other MFIs (microfinance institutions) throughout the world.
When I first heard this story about XacBank, it seemed a bit like a fairy tale. Based on analysis from the MicroBanking Bulletin (MBB), it takes about 7 years, on average, for an MFI to become financially sustainable. Sustainable means that the MFI collects its loans and covers all its costs well enough to serve poor clients even after it does not get grants or soft loans from donors or government.
XacBank broke this norm. It was profitable from the very start.
Although this is great for XacBank, it logically leads to another question. If it is financially self-sufficient, why does it need Kiva? Shouldn’t the 0% interest capital go to other MFIs that need it more? (more…)
Thank you, TLM lenders!
Last week I was able to meet some Kiva clients while doing borrower verifications. Shanty, one of the Kiva Coordinators, and I decided to print out their Kiva profiles and show them what the world had seen.
Although they get an explanation of what Kiva is when they sign the client waiver, many TLM clients have no knowledge of the internet. To see a printed out profile with their pictures, along with some of the faces of people who had loaned to them, was very exciting for these clients!
Fret Passu’s Group and Oliftataf 44-B Group handled the printouts as if they were gold and swatted away the children’s hands when they tried to touch it. Members of Sesawi B1 Group and Sesawi A2 Group excitedly pointed each other out in the profile pictures. We left the profiles with them and I know these will be treasured items.
When Fret Passu (pictured below, on right with mustache) saw his profile he said, “Even though I am sitting here in this dirty shirt, people all over the world know who I am!”
Members of Fret Passu’s Group and Oliftataf 44-B Group
Members of Sesawi B1 Group and Sesawi A2 Group
Thank you to all of the generous Kiva lenders who helped these people acquire their cattle loans!
Cissy DeLuca is working with Tanaoba Lais Manekat Foundation (TLM) in West Timor, Indonesia. Feel free to join our rapidly growing lending team and follow us on twitter!
Six Months Later: 10 Lessons Learned About Life, Microfinance and the Universe
Going full circle. Ferris Wheel in Bosteri, Issyk-Kul Lake Region, Kyrgyzstan
It was exactly half a year ago, on January 23rd, that I packed all of my belongings in one 30-pound backpack and left New York City for a 7 month trip to Central Asia and India. I only had a slightest idea of what the trip would wind being like and what exactly I’d be doing during all that time. I just knew that it was something that I had to try for myself, even if I couldn’t quite find and explain the reasons to others.
Low and behold, it’s now six months later and and I’m in the midst of doing my 2nd Kiva placement in Kyrgyzstan (after doing doing a Kiva Fellowship in Tajikistan and then a another job assignment in India). So, I figured that it would be a good time to stop and reflect on the experience and the lessons learned. With just four weeks left before heading back to the good, old U.S. of A, you definitely wonder about what this meant for you.
10 Lessons Learned About Life, Microfinance and the Universe (in no particular order):
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On Patience: Things take time to work. Over the last 6 months, I started work in 3 different organizations (2 for Kiva and 1 was for an independent, non-Kiva placement but also in microfinance). The first few weeks in every place can feel slow and sometimes awkward, as you struggle to find your place within the organization and figure out what you can contribute. Patience really is a virtue. (more…)
I know I can. Be what I want to be.
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF8 Peru
When did I begin to learn about savings? I can’t say I’m any good at it, but at one point far and long ago, I know I learned about it.
I suppose it was simply modeled to me by my parents, dedicated savers and cautious spenders. For many of us, saving seems so natural a concept that it’s hard to climb outside of our nutshells to see the rest of the world’s reality. Banks are readily available to many of us, and they often shell out incentives for us to save with them – collecting interest, investing, and the like. It seems like everyone is telling us to save.
Yet, from interviews I’ve conducted here in Ayacucho, I’ve noticed the importance of saving is something many of our borrowers really come to value only after joining FINCA.
FINCA requires its borrowers to deposit into a savings, which they get at the end of their loan cycle. Loan Officers also lecture the borrowers on the importance and value of saving at their weekly meetings, and encourage them to voluntarily contribute additional savings through FINCA as well.
The last question on my journal interview questionnaire for Kiva borrowers is also my personal favorite, and I made it the last one because I look forward to the response so much I make myself wait until the end. (It’s like in college when I would allow myself to eat candy only after I finished my homework.) The question is: what do you like the most about borrowing from FINCA?
I love it because it’s the one question I almost always get a unique response from. And yet one of the most resounding responses is, “because they taught me how to save!” One Kiva borrower said, “They force me to save. At first I hated it. But now I understand it and I love it! I’m going to start construction on my home soon. The savings are my favorite part.” I definitely saw myself in her.
For these women, the loan itself is not their ‘favorite part’ about borrowing from FINCA. It’s learning about savings! As if I wasn’t addicted to Kiva enough, now I have another reason to be: it’s not just about borrowing for the present, it’s about teaching the women to save for their future. Our microfinance partners that stress saving—and most of them do—are passing a great test of sustainability.
But these days, it’s not only the women that learn how to save at FINCA Peru.
Transition Mode
By Jaclyn Berfond, KF8 Kenya
As one of the last of the KF8 class to arrive in the field – Nairobi, Kenya to be exact – these last two weeks have certainly been a time of transition for me. So you can imagine my surprise, and comfort, when I found that both the MFIs I will be working with – the Small and Micro-Enterprise Programme (SMEP) and Faulu Kenya – were going through their own transitions…
Before I jump into that, however, let me first introduce myself as a newcomer to the Kiva Fellows blog. My name is Jaclyn, and I come from New York, via Geneva, Switzerland. I have been passionate about microfinance for many years, and I am now very excited to have the opportunity to work with not one, but two microfinance institutions here in Kenya!
In the two weeks since I arrived, I have had all sorts of new experiences; eating nyama choma (roast meat) and ugali (a maize-based dish), taking my first matatu (informal taxi vans which are known for loud music and squeezing in as many people as possible), and driving over some of the roughest roads I have ever experienced to visit borrowers in rural towns, Nairobi slums and everything in between. But beyond this very personal (and exciting) transition to a new country, a new culture, I have also been able to learn a little bit about the transition of microfinance going on here in Kenya.
Microfinance and the economic casualties of terrorism
The first time the Bali bombings came up in conversation for me, it was when I was interviewing a borrower, Pak (Mr.) I Putu Agus Sumerta. Pak Herman, a DINARI loan officer, introduced Agus to me as a victim of the 2nd Bali bombing.
I immediately assumed that he had been injured in the blast, but it turned out he was working in a hotel in the capital city of Denpasar at the time, nowhere near the beaches of Kuta and Jimbaran where the bombs went off. When I expressed my confusion, Agus and Herman explained that for most people in Bali, the most lasting negative consequence of the bombings was economic. Tourists were driven off the island and even regular visitors didn’t come back for years. Agus’ hotel was forced to close, and he was forced to return to his village of Melaya.
Should all kids want to be a doctor or astronaut? Maybe…
By Milena Arciszewski, KF8 – Community Economic Ventures Inc. – Philippines
The backdrop for my ah-ha! moment
Yesterday I had a thoughtful conversation with a CEV Loan Officer, over a bowl of soup. She told me about a recent interview she had with a young boy. She asked him about his dream for the future, and was disappointed when he answered: “When I grow up, I want to be strong so that I can carry heavy boxes like my father.” This boy doesn’t dream about becoming a pilot, or a doctor, or an astronaut. He dreams of becoming strong so that he can carry heavy boxes.
The Loan Officer looked at me and said firmly: “The worst part of poverty here is that it takes away people’s ability to dream.”
One of my favorite quotes is by Martin Luther King, Jr: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ There is a strange beauty to that boy who dreams of carrying heavy boxes. He sees honor in the job and his highest aspiration is to be strong so that he can do the job well. And that’s okay. It is not my place to judge his dreams or expect them to match mine. I responded to the Loan Officer that I think it’s a fine for him to have that dream, as long as it makes him happy.
“No, you don’t understand,” she answered. “That boy isn’t dreaming about carrying boxes because that will make him happy. He dreams of carrying boxes because that is all he knows. He is so poor that he doesn’t know what else to dream about.”
I had my ah-ha! moment. That’s why microfinance institutions exist. It’s not just about giving poor people the ability to grow their business. It’s about giving poor people the chance to live a better like so that they have the ability to dream.
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- A CEV borrower poses with her baby pig
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- A CEV borrower with her recycled goods
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- A CEV borrower poses before her rice field
Milena Arciszewski has a year-long Kiva fellowship. She is currently on her last placement at Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (“CEV”) in Tagbilaran City, Philippines. She has also spent time with Kiva partners in Bosnia and Kenya. For a list of CEV’s fundraising loans, click here.
From Sweets to Riches – The Business of Cookies
Pre-Story: Hollywood Comes to Kyrgyzstan
Last week, our MFI was visited by a pair of filmmakers from Brazil who were shooting a documentary on microfinance and the impact it has on the lives of clients. Their plan was to travel the globe for 10 months and record customers, loan officers, and other microfinance specialists in different parts of the world. After shooting in Brazil and Russia, they were coming to Kyrgyzstan and turned to our organization to help them with the logistics.
We arranged for them to meet and interview several of our clients and staff members in the Issyk-Kul region (about 4 hours away from the capital of Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek – where our headquarters are) and I had an opportunity to come with them to translate the interviews.
As a Kiva Fellow, we typically get to talk to clients frequently to learn more about their lives, businesses and the impact that credit has had on them. However, those conversations are typically brief, since the clients, and often the loan officers that accompany us, are on a tight schedule.
This time around, however, the interviews lasted for more than an hour and were in a relaxed, non-rushed setting. As a result, it offered fascinating insights into the lives of these inspiring business owners and showed many more dimensions to the clients.
I’d like to share with you a story of a husband and wife who have created a successful bakery and how they’ve come to this point.
And That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles…
The World’s Most Expensive Cities – Oslo, Moscow…Kinshasa?
By: John Soleanicov, KF8 DRC
Nope, that’s not a misprint, nor an exaggeration. You can find the source right here. Kinshasa comes in at number 6. The first time I tried to go grocery shopping, I thought I had the exchange rate wrong. $20 for a small piece of beef? That can’t be right. Well, it is.
Can this really be one of the most expensive cities in the world?
Home of the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been flooded with foreign troops, aid workers and diplomats, many with generous per diems. This, combined with Congo’s poor infrastructure and lack of production capacity, has resulted in prices that match or exceed those in most developed countries. (Note: Luanda, Angola is ranked even higher, at number 1, for similar reasons.)
It is possible to purchase locally-produced items at more reasonable prices (and this how local Congolese are able to survive) but not in the center of the city, where expatriates live. Getting to areas where food is actually affordable is difficult and can be unsafe, especially after dark. The center, meanwhile, is dotted with expat-oriented grocery stores filled with imported goods at exorbitant prices.
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