Posts tagged ‘microcredit’
Borrower Verification–Part II (Mom, I Don’t Feel So Well)
“80% certainty is pretty good”, I thought, as I sent the information to Kiva’s home office in San Francisco.
“Yea, pretty good. But is it good enough?”
Would it be good enough for you?
(excerpt taken from Part I of Borrower Verification)
In a word….no. That is, it wasn’t good enough. Again, it’s not that anyone was making unfounded accusations or looking for something that wasn’t there. I say this because although Kiva does make a great effort to avoid any association with activities ranging from “less than 100% honest” to “blatantly fraudulent”, there’s really not a culture of doubt, suspicion or looking for fraud under every rock. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s just that in the Borrower Verification, there’s no room for uncertainty, and although 80% isn’t so bad for a junior high math quiz, it just doesn’t cut it for an official audit.
So with that, I headed back to the beginning. Data was gathered, details were compared and facts revisited to ensure consistency. Camera? Check. Loan details? Check. Photo of borrower? Check. Snack, small amount of cash, sun block and rain jacket? Check. Check. Check. Check.
Continue Reading 25 September 2011 at 07:00 Jason Jones 8 comments
Borrower Verification–Part 1 (Locked Out)
Borrower Verification. Anyone who considers them-self to be a regular visitor to the Kiva Fellows Blog has most likely come across this topic on more than one occasion. It’s a common task to check off on the official TO-DO LIST of the average Fellow, and I, as a current member of the group, am no exception. Since most of us cringe ever so subtly at the sound of such titles as “auditor” or “microfinance cop”, however, we seem to try to put a more positive spin on the whole idea. After all, who wants to dwell on the shady side of the industry? As a collective group, we’re typically strong believers in the economic growth and productivity associated with supporting entrepreneurship on a micro level, as well as the benefits that come from supporting a “bottom-up” approach to development, one that provides struggling entrepreneurs with a way to lift themselves out of poverty. It’s that whole idea of “hey, stop your whining and pull yourself up by your bootstraps!” mixed with a softer-socially conscious-love your neighbor- peace, my brother-spread the wealth-fight the man-can’t we all just get along-teach them to fish-mentality. Ahhhh……such a harmonious blend.
Continue Reading 24 September 2011 at 07:00 Jason Jones 8 comments
The Circle of Life; Filipino Style
The phrase “The Circle of Life”, for individuals of my age demographic, typically conjures up images of Timon and Pumba. Hopefully I did not pull you into this blog under false pretenses but unfortunately the title is the only relation to the famous Disney movie. My hope is that you will continue reading in order to find out what “The Circle of Life” has to do with microfinance and Kiva.
First off, let me introduce you to the place, which is not Africa. For this circle of life I will be showing you around the workings of my MFI placement in Manila, Philippines. My MFI placement is called Center for Community Transformation (CCT). I have been working with CCT for just a week and already had a whirlwind introduction to what was microcredit services at birth and has transformed into a diverse body of services to enhance the lives of their “partners” in Metro Manila and to the greater body of the Philippines.
Prior to starting my Kiva fellow duties associated with their microfinance activities, the staff at CCT wanted to introduce me to the breadth of services they offer so I can understand how my participation in their microcredit services is contributing to a much bigger picture. I am going to bring you along on the ride, so you can get a glimpse of this bigger picture as well.
- Microfinance services- My first two days here I got to travel to several field offices of CCT, in order to see individual lenders and community lending meetings. One of these areas is just outside of Manila and it is called Payatas. This place is home to Manila’s infamous trash mountain called “The Smokey Mountain” (please see links on bottom for more information). Here many of the entrepeneurs own junk shops to clean and re-sell the items that have been scavenged from the nearby infamous “Smokey Mountain”.
- Payatas, the infamous “Smokey Mountain” landfill
- Health services- In this same field office I was introduced to just a portion of the services offered by CCT in their field offices. Here the CCT staff look for individuals that show leadership and consistency in participation in order to recruit them to be health partners for individuals undergoing Tuberculosis treatment in their area. The reason this is important is because the treatment for TB is a daily, six month long treatment that requires much support to complete correctly. If left to themselves, TB patients will often not complete the treatment without support.
- Feedings for Kaibigans (Tagalog for friends) aka Street dwellers- Manila is home to a large community of street dwellers. CCT has developed a transitional program to help individuals, who desire to do so, get off of the streets and find housing, mentorship, job training and school services for their children.
- Trade/job training- for the Kaibigans in areas of trade that include construction, janitorial work, sewing and agriculture (rice farming).
- School services and job skills for Kaibigan children- CCT has constructed several schools (by Kaibigan construction workers) to provide boarding and school services to students of all ages. In addition to this, they provide trade and job skill training to the teenage students.
- Agricultural services- for those Kaibigans who choose this areas of speciality they get to move out of Manila to help manage the rice fields and agricultural areas that are a part of the CCT portfolio . Not only do they earn a wage and food for their home/community, the food goes to supply the on-going Kaibigan feeding program from which these individuals came.
- Jobs- CCT provides jobs to the Kaibigans that go through their training programs as well as increased leadership opportunities for the entrepeneurs that show potential in these areas. The janitorial staff work at all of the CCT field offices (spanning the Philippines), the construction workers help build the buildings going up for CCT’s growing programs and the agricultural workers get to help raise the crops for the feeding program.
- CCT provides job training for former street dweller which they call Kaibigan (Tagalog for friend)
- Support and create community water programs- CCT finds local spiritual communities to become partners in supply affordable and safe drinking waters to low income areas. Through the water program, CCT is able to offer more jobs to Kaibigan to run the water purification process and packaging. CCT also works with local microentrepeneurs so that they can sell the safe water products.
The aforementioned items are a part of the whirlwind orientation I received over the last four days. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did. These programs grew out of what was initially just microcredit services. It became a circle where borrowers become health partners and community leaders and former street dwellers find homes, get jobs, supply their products and skills to enhance CCT’s day to day functions. A CCT field staff and I were talking over my time in orientation and she kept emphasizing to me this element of spiritual transformation, long term growth/vision and sustainability. Together we joked about this “circle of life” that CCT is trying to provide. At the end of four days, it is not so much a joke but a serious and inspiring vision to me.
For more information on Manila’s “Smoky Mountain”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/world/asia/21iht-city7.1790859.html?pagewanted
Jill is a Kiva Fellow (KF16) currently serving with the microfinance institution CCT in Manila, Philippines. In addition to seeing micro-finance work first hand, she’s looking forward to personally assisting food vendor micro-entrepreneurs across the Philippines to increase their revenue. Please be a part of this movement and check out more about the stories of CCT, the Philippines and Kiva. Visit Kiva.org and CCT’s partner page (http://www.kiva.org/partners/1440).
9 September 2011 at 05:08 The Musings of a Sponge 8 comments
Of Chinese Proverbs and Gambian Donkeys
by Tim Young, KF15, Senegal
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give a man a donkey and you feed him for at least five years, providing the donkey is well treated and doesn’t get sick.
On a recent trip to the Gambia, Kiva Fellow Tim Young visited a fascinating project, which has for the last 10 years or so has been fighting poverty, by helping the local people help their working animals.
Continue Reading 31 August 2011 at 10:44 letimyoung 3 comments
Isabukuru Nziza, ACB! A Kiva Field Partner in Rwanda Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
By Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
Birthdays are celebrated around the world, and Rwanda – the tiny East African country of 1000 hills wedged between the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi – is no exception.
For its 5-year anniversary, the staff of Kiva’s field partner Amasezerano Community Bank (ACB) left its offices in Kigali for the shores of beautiful lake Kivu (unfortunately not named after Kiva) at the Congolese boarder. The trip was an occasion to remember key events in ACB’s history – mostly joyous, sometimes somber – but above all to celebrate.
Continue Reading 31 August 2011 at 08:19 Kathrin Gerner 11 comments
Possunt quia posse videntur
In this post, Kiva Fellow Tim Young, fortiter in re, suaviter in modo, shares some observations from a Fellow’s work in the field.
Continue Reading 25 August 2011 at 10:18 letimyoung 5 comments
“What do I do here in Lebanon?” you ask
“What do I do here in Lebanon?” people ask me all the time. I usually struggle a bit; I take a deep breath and I start explaining what micro-credit and micro-finance is. I tend to throw in words like: “lack of access to the banking system”, “Mohamed Yunus” and “giving the poor financial stability”. But even after a little bit of explaining, I still don’t know if I’m getting the point across. And I often find that when I say “loan” people immediately ask “How can I get one for my business?” So, I turned to Al Majmoua to see how local Microfinance Institution (MFI) in Lebanon is addressing this on a daily basis?
Continue Reading 3 August 2011 at 10:00 Heba Gamal 3 comments
Working Animals, Conservation & Microfinance
In this post Kiva Fellow Tim Young considers two successful examples of organisations working with local communities to improve the livelihoods of working animals and their wild cousins, and considers how microfinance could be used to help finance, support and further these efforts.
Continue Reading 27 July 2011 at 09:36 letimyoung 9 comments
Bafut by Foot
At GHAPE, new borrower centers are established only in areas identified as mostly poor. Individual borrowers are also screened using a tool called the Basic Needs Test to determine whether they qualify as potential GHAPE borrowers – very poor based on a variety of measurable factors. Recently I had the opportunity to accompany GHAPE’s Chief of Administration and Finance and the Assistant Field Manager to conduct a Basic Needs Test for a new borrower center in Bafut, outside Bamenda. The Basic Needs Test is a survey developed by GHAPE staff to first assess the overall poverty level of an area and then to screen potential borrowers to learn their economic status. GHAPE administers micro-loans, beginning as small as $10, to the poorest of the poor. In order to assess whether new clients qualify as very poor, GHAPE visits their home and asks detailed questions. The questions focus on 5 main areas: food consumption (number and quality of meals per day), clothes, cleanliness, house structure, and health. type of toilet, number of school age children in school, and whether or not children under age 6 receive milk every day.
Continue Reading 19 July 2011 at 23:00 faithgarlington 9 comments
A Senegalese Spring?
by Tim Young, KF15, Senegal
“Y en a marre!” the radio shouts as our 4X4 makes its way along narrow dusty roads to a borrower meeting some 40 kms from Thies. It is the 28th June, the day after the latest serious riots here in Senegal and the four of us bouncing around in the car listen intently. Last night I arrived home to find the roundabout outside my flat once again blocked by burning tyres, while large crowds watched peaceably from the side roads.
Continue Reading 6 July 2011 at 06:19 letimyoung 11 comments
Faces of Poverty?
Do these disciplined happy high school students match our common image of poverty in places like Cameroon? Not really. But do their mothers, fathers, grandparents, or other guardian live on more than $2/day, the international marker for poverty? Probably not. Many live on their own, with extended family, or family friends, and earn money outside of school to pay for books and other fees. Furthermore, do these teens have easy access to potable water? Hardly. They most likely carry it in buckets from a public tap that may be shared among the entire village. Do these students have mosquito nets for nightly protection from the risk of malaria? Probably not.
Continue Reading 5 July 2011 at 11:08 faithgarlington 1 comment
Fighting Crime…..Kiva Style
It all started on Friday night. After a very brief visit to an event celebrating the grand opening of a vegetarian café/yoga center here in Managua (certainly one of a kind for the region), I found that I was unable to insert the key into the driver’s side door. A few seconds later, I realized that this was the result of someone having forced a screwdriver into the lock, rendering it nonfunctional.
“Uh oh,” I thought, “this can’t be good.”
Expecting the vehicle to now be unlocked and subsequently empty, I pulled on the handle.
“Hey, good news! It’s still locked. Maybe they weren’t able to get in!”
It was true. The doors were indeed locked. The window, on the other hand, had proven to be slightly less formidable. And with that, I suddenly found myself with a few less possessions in the world.
Continue Reading 1 July 2011 at 17:00 Jason Jones 4 comments
Paving the Way to the Future (Part 2): Road Construction and Its Effects on Microfinance in Togo
By Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo
Lomé is under construction. In fact, all of Togo is under construction. This is what I heard when I first arrived in this small West African country two weeks ago. And it did not take me very long to find out what that meant.
Continue Reading 26 June 2011 at 02:00 Kathrin Gerner 15 comments
Paving the Way to the Future (Part 1): Bad Roads, Transportation Costs and Microfinance in Togo
By Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo
It becomes apparent with every new rainfall now that the rain season has started in Togo: Roads are the arteries that carry the lifeblood of the economy. They transport goods, employees and clients, and they provide shelf space for the countless street vendors.
Mostly unpaved, however, the roads of Lomé stand no chance in the face of torrential downpours. With few drains to take the water out of the city and the soil already saturated, they turn into a vast, difficult to navigate network of rivers and lakes. The otherwise vibrant Togolese capital comes to a halt and only starts back with a slow crawl when the rain subsides.
Continue Reading 20 June 2011 at 03:00 Kathrin Gerner 16 comments
This. Is. Africa! Some stories of a Kiva Fellowship
Tim looks at some of the different aspects involved in being a Kiva Fellow, from meeting innovative borrowers to appearing on TV!
Pig Loans in Paradise: Microfinance for Livestock in West Bali, Indonesia
By Anne Conlin, KF15 Indonesia
When I told my family, friends, and prior employer that I would be spending my Kiva Fellowship in Bali, I got a lot of rolling eyes, good-natured ribbing, and questions about my surfing ability. Fair enough. Instead of working on my tan, I am working in Jembrana, Bali’s poorest and most sparsely populated kabupaten (regency), which is situated on the northwest corner of the island and five hours from the nearest tourist. Both nightclubs and surf shops – not to mention grocery stores, rentable housing, and taxis – are nowhere to be found.
Blimbingsari village church - the decorative style is Balinese, and the split gate is inspired by Hindu temples
Though 93% of Balinese practice Hinduism, my village, Blimbingsari, happens to be the one Protestant village in Bali (the other Christian village in Bali is the neighboring Catholic village of Palasari). Blimbingsari was founded in 1939 when Dutch colonists, worried that ardent Christian converts were creating tensions with Balinese Hindus, banished the island’s Christians to the uninhabited west of the island. In Blimbingsari, the gereja (church) is the physical and soul center of town: on a typical Sunday, 500 of the village’s 600 residents turn out for mass. Though Blimbingsari was formed by a group in exile, the residents – the children and grandchildren of village founders – remain proudly Balinese. Traditional Balinese garb is go-to attire for mass, and the church is built in the distinctive ornate style generally attributed to Balinese Hindu temples, the giant cross on top one notable exception.
The Blimbingsari-based MFI Mitra Usaha Kecil (MUK) is my host organization, and we open each day with hymns, bible study, and prayers for the success of MUK clients, programs, and partners (including Kiva!). Though a Christian organization, MUK has clients of all faiths, which reflects a “live and let live” attitude towards religion common among Indonesians, but which might run counter to many Americans’ opinions of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
MUK was founded as a cooperative in 2008 and its member-borrowers receive 20% of profits as dividends at year-end. Without cliché, MUK operates like a family; the cooperative’s first board was made entirely of employees, most of who were raised in Blimbingsari and remain residents today. Because of cautious growth, small scale, and high social cohesion in the community, MUK exists in a rarified space among MFIs in that they have, to date, never collected collateral (some individual loans are collateralized, group loans are not). The cooperative structure has limited imperatives for growth and MUK operates without commercial funding.
Though Jembrana is remote, “access to finance” could hardly be termed “poor”. The explosion of retail banking and consumer credit that has resulted from Indonesia’s strong half decade of economic growth has brought national banks as well as several MFIs, cooperatives, and a government bank to the Jembrana area. These banks offer group and individual loans, but government loans involve endless bureaucratic hurdles, while some of the cooperatives collect 73% (APR, before fees) interest, and many require collateral. MUK offers both group and individual loans at comparatively low interest rates, but MUK’s true differentiation and value to the community is in specialized livestock loan products.
MUK’s most unique product is the Kelompok Babi or Pig Breeder Group. Across Bali, men support their families through farming, manual labor, small businesses, and other trades. In addition to participating in many of these productive activities alongside their husbands, many Balinese women supplement family income – under $1.25 PCI/day for many Jembrana families – by informally raising one or two pigs in their yard for sale to the local butcher. (Babi guling, or suckling pig, is a Balinese delicacy.) MUK identified that, with capital, these women could scale up their pig breeding activities and earn more money for their families.
A proud second loan client with her pig in its tidy cage
MUK’s Pig Breeder Group Loan Program forms groups of ten female neighbors, each of whom gets 1M IDR ($117 USD), lent at 18% interest (APR, ~34% after fees). Typically, women buy two piglets for around $60, and spend the rest of the money on pig food. They sell the pigs five months later to a butcher for around $190, yielding an excellent return and substantial increase in familial income over farming or running a kiosk. Unlike most microloans, which rely on a high-touch repayment schedule with group meetings every week, Pig Breeder clients have one repayment at the end of the six month term, only after they have sold their pigs. Most group members say they will use increased income to improve their houses, pay school fees, and buy motorbikes to use in their families’ businesses. Earnings, plus their next loan, also go towards buying more pigs. The hope is that after several loan cycles, women will be raising four or five pigs.
Given the return, why wouldn’t more banks and cooperatives in the area cater to this common productive activity? The amazingly low default rates seen in microfinance are often attributed, at least in part, to the high-touch microfinance practice of weekly repayment meetings. This repayment schedule clearly does not mesh with a livestock breeding cycle, in which clients make an upfront investment in the animals, but do not see returns for several months. Well, though no small business is a sure thing, livestock are especially risky because the asset can die, almost certainly resulting in default. Microfinance institutions are justifiably uneasy with lack of diversification in local rural economies, and subsequent lack of diversification in their portfolio, particularly when a large fraction of borrowers might be subject to covariant risks like drought or flood. Microfinance institutions generally look for years of experience in a given business as a mark of credit-worthiness, so MUK’s clients could be seen as a risky proposition because they have not formally raised pigs before. Though livestock and crop insurance – a topic beginning to garner interest in the microfinance community – is not feasible for MUK, they have come up with some innovative services to ensure the continued health of the groups’ pigs and – by extension – MUK’s loans.
First, though MUK’s Pig Breeder clients do not repay until the end of the loan, check-ins do ensure funds are not diverted: field officers visit clients one month after disbursement to ensure they have bought pigs, and one month before repayment, to ensure that pigs are healthy. In addition, there are monthly meetings at which members discuss progress and add small amounts of $1-2 to voluntary savings accounts. Though all MUK clients receive training on household budgeting, training women in more professional pig raising methods is the primary goal of Pig Breeder Group wrap-around services and the way MUK ensures clients will be successful. Before joining the program (and usually through her first loan cycle) a woman might allow her pig free roam of the yard and feed it banana-tree-stalk pulp. Conversely, in her second or third loan, the woman might build a metal or bamboo cage for her pig and feed it more modern animal feed. If the former sounds like a recipe for organic, premium priced, free-range pork, think again. Un-caged, the pigs can wander around, eat garbage, and become sick; moreover, their banana tree diet is low in nutrients and will limit the size of the pigs. Pigs are less likely to live to sale, and also less profitable when sold using this more primitive methodology.
A prize sow, some healthy piglets, successful second loan clients, KF Anne chats with a client
Therefore, to foster a change in method, MUK’s staff veterinarian visits villages and gathers borrowing groups together for training. Rapid change in generations old practices is not the goal; the aim is gradual behavioral modification over the course of multiple loan cycles. As an additional “insurance policy”, if a pig gets sick, the vet makes house (or sty) calls with vitamins and medicine. No client in the program has ever lost a pig.
MUK’s Kelompok Babi program is an example of the power of microfinance to not only deliver loans to the underserved, but to also meet clients where they are with pragmatically designed products. This program – and, I am sure, innovative programs at many Kiva partners – delivers a product that is highly tailored to the productive activities of the community, and supports clients, loan cycle after loan cycle, in their success.
To learn more about Mitra Usaha Kecil, please visit MUK’s Kiva Partner Page or join the MUK Lending Team to support some great women (and great pigs).
In addition to a second loan, successful group members are eligible for participation in MUK’s pilot BioGas program – BIRU – which will be the subject of a future post.
For more information, please visit Microfinance Gateway’s Rural and Agricultural Finance library.
Kiva in the Community!
Tim gives his first impressions of how a Micro-Finance Institution interacts with the local community it serves, gets to know the personalities of the Dakar suburb of Yoff and even tries for an early sneaky appearance on national TV!
A Rainy Day in Masaya
By Jason Jones, KF15, Nicaragua
It’s Wednesday, the third day of my Kiva Fellowship here in Nicaragua. After a short ride on a motorcycle, a relatively long walk, two different vans (OK…so the first one MAY have been due to an error on my part) and one taxi, I’ve finally arrived to a small meeting area outside the town of Masaya. As I enter the gathering, I find approximately twenty women sitting around a U-shaped arrangement of tables. They are the “entrepreneurs”, the owners of small businesses that have come today for a training session on the topic of Business Development. Unlike me, they seem to have arrived in a relatively timely manner despite the morning rain. Fortunately, they don’t judge too harshly.
A Day of Business Development
To understand why we are here today, I should probably begin with a brief explanation. With an overall mission of connecting people through lending to alleviate poverty, Kiva partners with 133 microfinance institutions in 60 countries throughout the world. After making a loan through the Kiva website, these funds make their way from the lender (you?)……to Kiva……to a local MFI…….to individuals such as those sitting in front me on this rainy morning in Central America. By receiving such loans, these women are given the opportunity to grow, improve, or enhance their businesses for the economic benefit of themselves and their families.
As for the reason behind MY particular presence, that’s a slightly different story. Through Kiva’s Fellowship Program, individuals such as me are sent to the various field partners (MFIs such as ADIM) in one of those 60 countries I mentioned before. I would describe the actual work of the fellows as a combination of such roles as accountant, journalist, photographer/videographer, customer service liaison, globetrotter, business consultant, and auditor. It involves such objectives as being Kiva’s “eyes and ears in the field” and “increasing the impact of Kiva’s global mission”, but in the end really just comes down to creating or maintaining a connection between those four distinct groups in the Kiva model; lenders, Kiva, MFIs, and borrowers. Two weeks ago, while participating in a training session at Kiva’s central office in San Francisco, I was wondering why I hadn’t dressed more appropriately for the cold weather. Today, I find myself sweating in the tropics.
As I am continually learning as a relative newcomer to the world of microfinance, NOT ALL MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS ARE CREATED EQUAL. Of course, when evaluating a particular organization, one always wants to consider such obvious factors as geographic location, size, history, portfolio yield, return on assets, operational sustainability, and that ever-present struggle between the red and black numbers at the bottom of the page. But in a world of mission statements often describing a particular institution’s reason for existence with such phrases as “improving quality of life to specific sectors”, “helping the poor to improve their livelihood”, and “offer financial services to marginalized communities”, the often overlooked SOCIAL PERFORMANCE of an organization remains a vital component of an accurate assessment.
ADIM is a microfinance institution dedicated to entrepreneurial development, especially of female entrepreneurs in peripheral urban and rural areas, to help them move towards transcendence, personal affirmation and evolution into more equitable relationships.
This is the mission statement of ADIM, a small microfinance institution located in Nicaragua. ADIM has been operating in the area for 22 years now and believes strongly that although financial assistance is certainly an important piece, it’s not the entire puzzle. For this reason, they offer their clients (90% of which are women) classes on such topics as identity and self esteem, economic independence, basic accounting, and a variety of themes involving success in the marketplace. Today as I make my entrance, they are giving testimonials with regard to how previous sessions have positively impacted their lives and businesses. After listening for several minutes and giving an impromptu introduction, I ask if anyone in the group has been the recipient of a Kiva loan. One has to remember that although a number of ADIM’s clients do receive loans through Kiva, there are also those that do not. After a moment or two of puzzled looks from the majority of those present, four hands eventually go up. Today, amongst this group of twenty borrowers, it looks as though Kiva has been responsible for 20% of the loans. From there, the stories begin.
Maura with her flowers
Maura is a 39 year old florist who has come today with her teenage daughter. 15 years ago, in an attempt to learn the trade, she began working in local flower shops around Managua. Since no one was willing to pay her for her work at that time, she simply acted as free labor until she gained enough knowledge to be on her own. Although her business remains very small to date, she tells me that it has grown considerably from what it was in the beginning. With her recent loan through Kiva, she’s excited for the opportunity to boost her inventory in preparation for what is perhaps the largest day for the floral industry here in Nicaragua, namely Mother’s Day.
A few of Gloria's purses
Another one of today’s attendees is 23 year old Gloria, who began working with leather several years ago. What began with an initial focus on shoes quickly grew to include purses, wallets, belts, hats, briefcases, etc. In 2010 she, along with two other members of her borrower-group, received an $800 loan from Kiva. With the subsequent improvements to her business and her increased knowledge through ADIM’s training program, Gloria went on to qualify for an additional $1500 in the form of an international grant. Now with a new workshop to call her own and further recognition that has come recently in the local media, she claims that business is better than ever.
I could certainly go on. Adelfa mentions that her Kiva loan has allowed her to purchase beauty products of much higher quality to sell in her small store. As a result, her profit margin has increased significantly. Through a separate Kiva loan, Mayra has been able to raise her inventory as well. In her business of “intimate apparel”, she too reports that sales are up and talks of potential loans in the future.
And so the day continues. We complete the testimonials, several educative sessions, lunch, and a demonstration of products by a number of the entrepreneurs. Before the inevitable departure, the group is given one final surprise in the form of being serenaded with several songs from Mayra, all in honor of the upcoming Mother’s Day. As I make my way back to Managua, I see that the rain has stopped, and I experience a small victory of my own by successfully boarding the right bus in the right direction. While traveling in the northern direction, I can’t help but reflect upon the day. I think it’s fair to say that the borrowers represented by today’s cross section would not be considered to be OVERTLY successful by much of the world’s standard. For the most part, they are simply owners of very small businesses trying to make it from one month to the next. Is microfinance the answers to ALL of their problems? Of course not. Is immediate radical transformation experienced following a simple training seminar? Most likely, no. But from what I’ve witnessed over the last 8 hours, I have to say that this group is certainly heading in the right direction. At some point and in some form, a positive difference is being made along the way. And for that, I also have to say that despite the afternoon showers, it’s been a pretty nice day.
Now…..which one is my stop??
Kiva Farmers: A Tale of Irony and Woe in Nicaragua
Onions and more onions.
It has been a phenomenal summer harvest here in Estelí, Nicaragua. Everywhere you look; there are fields filled with onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, and cabbage, thanks to just the right amount of rainfall and sunshine, and access to financing through micro-credit. With loans from Kiva, borrowers bought plants, fertilizer, pesticide, gasoline for irrigation pumps, and also paid the salaries of workers, and rent for the land and use of a tractor.
So why then, are all the farmers struggling to make their loan payments? Why is a Kiva borrower delinquent 40 days in paying back his loan?
We have to go back to the last three years, before 2010. Harvests were not good. There was too much rain during the summer (Oct – April) which brought pests and rot. The farmers lost part of their crops, and couldn’t meet the demand in the market. Consequentially, prices for their produce shot up, and then did very well.
Then in 2010, the farmers, expecting the same conditions, all sowed their crops in October. However, this year, conditions were perfect. Come March, harvests exceeded expectations, and all the produce came to market at the same time, driving down the price. So instead of $6 for a box of tomatoes, the farmers were receiving $1.50. Now many farmers are forced to rely on an intermediary to broker a deal for their crop. The intermediary takes only three cents on the dollar for selling their harvest, but he is selling it at a cut-rate price, leaving the farmers with little to no earnings.
Tomatoes left to rot in the field.
With no help from the government, the farmers are on their own to solve this dilemma. Many are letting their crops rot in the field, because it costs more to pick, bag, and ship the produce to market, than what they can expect to receive from a buyer. As a Kiva Fellow, seeing the poverty and hunger here in Nicaragua first-hand, and knowing that this is the second poorest country in Central America after Haiti, letting food go to waste is an outrage.
Imported tomatoes can be found in supermarkets in Managua.
To understand how bad the situation is, Nicaraguans normally consume 60,000 lbs of tomatoes, and this year the farmers produced double that amount. And it is not only tomatoes that exceeded expectations, but onions, cabbage, and sweet peppers too. Onion farmers have told me their earnings this year are 80% less than in previous years.
Only a few lucky farmers were able to export their produce to neighboring El Salvador and Costa Rica, where the governments restrict imports to protect their own farmers.
Meanwhile, I have heard one heartbreaking story after another as farmers sit on produce they can’t sell, and are forced to sell off their assets, including livestock, to cover their debts, or face going into delinquency. To help the farmers, Kiva Field Partner MiCredito has begun to restructure the loans of the farmers to help them through this, but they cannot stop the downward spiral as the farmers are unable to take any new loans, which means they will not have the financing needed to sow their next crop, and so on.
A Kiva borrower's home filled with onions, waiting for a buyer.
As for the Kiva borrower who is already 40 days late in paying off his loan, his case weighs heavy on my mind as he tries daily to find a buyer for his onions. He and his wife have two young boys in primary school. They live in a one room house with a dirt floor and no running water. They own a horse and a few cattle, that the farmer may have to sell to keep from defaulting on his loan. The last news I received on his situation, was that he was restructuring his loan with Kiva Field Partner, MiCredito, to give him more time.
To avoid this adversity in the future, the farmers’ association has decided that next summer, starting in October 2011, the farmers will stagger their plantings in the three agricultural regions of Sebaco, Colita, and Estelí.
- Karen Gray, Kiva Fellow 14, Nicaragua
Kids Get Their Day
By John Farmer, KF 14, Mexico
Mexico decided back in 1924 that The Day of the Child would take place in April, long before the rest of the world decided to celebrate it in November. On April 30th I was in the state of Morelos, and went out into the streets to participate in the food and fun even though I long ago ceased being a child. A couple of women saw me without much food and insisted I get more. Such is the generosity in Mexico. The kids had all they wanted and more and there was still plenty for outsiders.
Mexico is a great place to be a kid in many respects. Children are absolutely adored in this culture where family is everything. They often live at home until well past childhood.
But youth here face all sorts of problems. Health is a major concern — the childhood death rate is nearly 7 times that of Western Europe. 15% of Mexican children under age 5 are stunted by malnutrition. Food insecurity effects over 40% of the country’s population according to some sources. Environmental concerns, such as pollution and smoke inhalation from cooking stoves, are also crippling factors.
Continue Reading 4 May 2011 at 18:00 john.beckwith.farmer 1 comment
Herbal tea and witch doctors
Clara Vreeken, KF 14, Bolivia
Clara volunteered as Kiva Fellow in Bolivia. She worked for the micro finance institutions IMPRO, Pro Mujer and Emprender. In this blog she elaborates on health issues in Bolivia – Bolivians prefer to drink herbal tea and listen to witch doctors instead of seeing a doctor – and she says goodbye as the end of her Kiva Fellowship has arrived.
Continue Reading 29 April 2011 at 04:00 claravisser 2 comments
25 Years Working Where the Need is Greatest
By Noreen Giga, KF 14, Peru
Founded in 1986, Prisma is celebrating 25 years of bringing “financial services and non-financial services to disadvantaged communities in order to strengthen them, and promote sustainable social and economic development.” And the credit branch of Prisma, Microfinanzas Prisma, formed in 1994 is celebrating 17 years of reaching Peru’s urban and rural poor.
Continue Reading 26 April 2011 at 15:02 Noreen Giga 1 comment
Economies of scaling down
Nearly half the world’s population lives on less than $2.50 per day. That’s a lot of people, and finance isn’t the only sector that’s gone micro to reach this huge market.
- By David McNeill, KF14 Sierra Leone
What was your last business trip like?
By Noreen Giga, KF 14, Peru
Mine entailed traveling around Central Peru for a week and a half. Part of a fellow’s duty is to complete a Borrower Verification. Kiva selects a random sample of ten clients that represents an organization’s portfolio and sends it to us fellows. We, in turn, visit each and every client on the list to verify that they are who they say they are, that they indeed received a loan for the amount posted on Kiva’s website, and to talk to them about their business and loan use. You can think of it as a mini-audit process.
I am serving as a fellow with Microfinanzas Prisma, a large micro-finance organization that is based in Lima, Peru, but has branch offices throughout the country. Before I received my list I was told I would get to do some traveling for work, I had no idea what that meant until now.
Continue Reading 30 March 2011 at 08:40 Noreen Giga 6 comments
Ensuring a manly man’s day
Maybe it's better to leave it to the professionals (Credit for photo goes to Aaro Ylitalo)
February 23rd was man’s day here in Kyrgyzstan. Actually it was Defenders of the Fatherland Day throught the former Soviet Union, but here in Kyrgyzstan that has morphed into man’s day. Many of you might be familiar with International Women’s Day which is coming up on March 8th, but until I got here to Kyrgyzstan I had not heard of its male equivalent. I decided to celebrate the day with a trip to visit an entrepreneurial eagle hunter working to set up a community based tourism project in his rural home town. (more…)
Knowing and Understanding, Saber y Entender
by Carlos Cruz Montano KF14
One of my local friends came to me one day… “Mr. Montano I need to talk to you”. Later that day he told me he had to send money to his mother and had other expenses but payday which was still a few days away. We agreed on the terms, half with the current month’s pay and the other half with the following month’s pay; both at the end of the month since that’s when he receives his pay. No big deal, I thought.The first paydate came and went – no payment. He had an explanation and reasoning of how we had agreed for him to pay on the 14th of the month – to his credit he did pay back the first half on that day but this simple incident finally made me understand what three directors at different microfinance institutions (MFIs) had been telling me in one way or another, sometimes borrowers simply do not understand the terms of the loan.
Uno de mis amigos llegó un día muy sonriente y me dijo Señor Montano, necesito hablar con usted. Un rato después me explicó que tenía una pequeña emergencia y debía mandar un poco de dinero a su mamá pero todavía faltaban varios días para el fin de mes (que es cuando recibe su sueldo mensual). Después de platicar llegamos a un acuerdo, yo le iba a prestar el dinero; el haría dos pagos en el último día del mes, es cuando recibe su salario. Pasó el último día del mes como si nada, cuando lo volví a ver le pregunte que había pasado. El me salió con una historia que el había acordado pagarme a mitad de mes. Al final si me pagó pero este pequeño incidente finalmente me hizo enteder lo que tres directores de instituciones de microfinanzas (IMFs) me habian comentado: a veces los clientes simplemente no entienden los términos del contrato.
Last Week in the Field: “Christmas”, Trekking, Adversity + Good Company
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa
Members of the 14th class of Kiva Fellows have officially hit their stride. While we never know where the next dispatch will come from or what interesting topics the Fellows will cover next, we always know we’ll be transported, entertained, and edified. This past week, topics included “Christmas”, trekking to a remote village (with video!), handling adversity (including a serious car accident and stolen electronics), and enjoying the company of loan officers, borrowers, and community members. Enjoy!
Continue Reading 21 February 2011 at 02:17 Alexis Ditkowsky 12 comments
The Financial Donut Hole
The other day I took a shared taxi home from work in Freetown, which costs about US$0.20. The driver asked me what I was doing here in Sierra Leone. When I replied “Microcredit,” he said, “Ah, that is for women.”
He’s right – the microfinance industry has focused most of its resources on poor women because they are especially affected by poverty, and empowering women can bring about positive changes in their families and communities. At one of the organizations I’m working with over 99% of their loans are to women.
I told the taxi driver that in spite of this focus on women, some men get microloans as well. So he asked me if he could get a loan to purchase his own taxi. This presented another problem – Kiva has a limit of US$1200 for individual loans, which might buy a motorcycle, but not a car. Kiva and other microfinance organizations have limits like this to help target their efforts to the poorest of the poor.
I explained this limit to him and suggested that he might get a loan from a traditional bank. “Banks are only for rich people,” he said. In addition, he wouldn’t have the required collateral for a bank loan.
So this taxi driver is stuck in a financial donut hole – too poor for a loan from a bank, and yet too wealthy for microcredit. Clearly there are still opportunities to better serve the broader financial landscape.
By David McNeill, KF14 Sierra Leone
A shared taxi in Sierra Leone
The Kiva Fellows Phenomenon
“Goodbye. I love you. I’ll miss you but I know how good what you’re doing is, and I want you to be there”. Suddenly I was on through security, on the plane, and the engines whirred into life as we accelerated up the runway. And it dawned on me what I was leaving behind in London, to spend the next few months in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Why am I doing this…?”
Let me introduce you to the Fellows Phenomenon.
Continue Reading 13 February 2011 at 12:00 Gareth Davies 6 comments
You never forget your first time
As a Kiva lender turned Kiva Fellow, I will never forget my Kiva “first times”, from my first loan, to receiving my first partial repayment, to receiving my first completed loan repayment notice. My latest first took place recently in Benin, West Africa, when I visited my first Kiva borrower.
Continue Reading 5 February 2011 at 06:00 fbillou Leave a comment
