Posts tagged ‘microloans’
Perks + Atatürk + My hero
Cookıe samples = Perks!
Mr. Cool: Layla’s Story (Video Blog)
By Laurie Young, KF16
Awhile ago I attended a Kiva loan disbursement for VisionFund Indonesia with my Kiva Coordinator, Valentine. She and I were both intrigued by a product called Mr. Cool that Layla, the leader of the group, has a business turning into ice cream pops. Often times the borrowers we met during field visits were quiet and reserved. However, Layla was extremely excited to have us in her home and show us all about her business making Mr. Cool pops. She was the most outgoing and charismatic borrower I met during my time in Jakarta and, because of this, I wanted to share our visit with you.
Continue Reading 21 December 2011 at 20:00 laurie4485 1 comment
Mali in Color (Part 2): Impressions from the Road
By Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
In the first part of this blog series, I shared pictures of Malian borrowers. But even on my way to those borrowers, I was not able to put down my camera. Here are my favorite shots from the road.
Continue Reading 13 December 2011 at 02:00 Kathrin Gerner 1 comment
Mali in Color (Part 1): Impressions of Kiva Borrowers
By Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
When I boarded a plane to Mali last week, I was not exactly enthusiastic. One reason may have been the unpleasant 2 AM take-off from Kigali, another the recent Al-Qaida kidnappings in the North, which meant that all relevant tourist spots were off limits. And six months into my career as a Kiva fellow, a routine task such as a borrower visit was not enough to get me excited.
I was in for a surprise.
The borrowers of Kiva’s Malian field partner Soro Yiriwaso and their incredible hospitality, made my trip unforgettable. I came to check borrowers’ identities and look at loan papers. I left with a mountain of presents, a full stomach and a serious caffeine high after the countless cups of sweat tea offered to me everywhere I went.
But I was most excited about finally being in a country where people love to be photographed. Below are my favorite shots from my meetings with Malian borrowers.
Continue Reading 12 December 2011 at 03:00 Kathrin Gerner 6 comments
If It Is Tuesday, It Must Be Izmit + more of my favorite borrowers + “buyurun agabeyi”….
By Kim Strathearn, KF16, Turkey
If It Is Tuesday, it must be Izmit. Maya’s Kocaeli / Izmit branch is about 1 ½ hours away from Istanbul and every Tuesday, either Aylin or Asu, or both from the Istanbul office make the trip to approve borrower applications. These visits always take place in the business or home (if that were she works from) of the potential borrower.
Izmit Office
Maya Poster
The office is located in a small mall in the downtown area. Pelin (now on maternity leave) and Songül staff the office.
Pelin
If It Is Thursday, It Must Be Sakarya + What is Bohça?
By Kim Strathearn, KF16, Turkey
If It Is Thursday, It Must Be Sakarya and either Aylin or Asu from the Istanbul office will make the 2 ½ hour drive each way to visit potential loan clients and conduct the final interview for loan approvals. Since the office covers a large area, sometimes they both go. It depends on how many loan application approval visits they have to make and how far spread out the clients are. Click on Ayse, Mine, and Hayriye’s profiles to see some Kiva entrepreneurs from the Sakarya region.
Maya’s Sakarya branch office is located in Adapazarı and was established in 2005. Adapazari is the capital of the Sakarya province and this branch also provides services to clients in the neighboring province of Düzce. Maya Istanbul office has been providing loans to women entrepreneurs in Düzce since 2004 but assigned the area to the Sakayra office because it is easier to serve from Adapazari than from Istanbul.
Continue Reading 3 November 2011 at 05:00 act4impact 5 comments
Say a Little Prayer for the Portfolio: 5 Questions about Christian Microfinance in Rwanda
By Kathrin Gerner and Whitney Webb, KF16, Rwanda
Before coming to Rwanda, we both had no idea what it meant to work for a Christian bank. Islamic banking, yes, that is something we had heard about before. But Christian banking?
To find out more, we interviewed the staff at our host microfinance institutions, Amasezerano Community Banking, Vision Finance Company and Urwego Opportunity Bank, and asked them five questions.
Continue Reading 10 October 2011 at 03:00 Kathrin Gerner 5 comments
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 4 comments
One Dollar Per Day, A Beginner’s Guide (Part 2)
By Jason Jones, Kiva Fellow (Nicaragua)
This is the second in a two-part series. To read Part 1, please follow this link.
……..So what does a life based upon one dollar (or 1 and a quarter or two) per day really look like? That’s mainly what I ask myself. Beyond that, how does one go about living on one dollar per day? Could I personally live on one or two dollars per day? In all fairness, I should probably say that I’ve never actually tried, nor do I have any real desire to do so (I suspect I’m not alone on that one). I mean I do try to keep things relatively “simple” on the average. I go from point A to point B on two wheels rather than four. I afford myself very few “luxuries” such as new clothes or cutting edge electronic devices (nope, no smart phone for this guy. Mine is ignorant at best). Come to think of it, I’ve all but stopped going to any restaurant that charges more than four or five dollars per entree. But despite such “drastic approaches” to life, even my modest rent of two dollars and fifty cents per day automatically disqualifies me from the official dollar per day club. Throw in another five or so for food, one for gas and another for such things as phone and internet, and I’m not even close to the cutoff. Based upon those numbers alone, I’m living a life of luxury.
According to most statistics, however, nearly half the population of Nicaragua IS living on less than two dollars per day. How do they do that? What does that actually look like? (taken from Part 1)……..
Continue Reading 17 August 2011 at 08:00 Jason Jones 3 comments
Green Microfinance: Backyard Biogas in Bali, Indonesia
By Anne Conlin, KF15 Indonesia
In a past blog post, I discussed how loans from Kiva’s partner MUK in rural West Bali, Indonesia are helping women expand the scale of their pig breeding businesses. As part of MUK’s mission statement is to address local environmental issues, MUK is currently piloting a program that would put pig waste to good use, by installing biogas digesters in the backyards of successful pig borrowers.
Continue Reading 28 July 2011 at 02:55 anneconlin 7 comments
Meeting “My” Borrower
By Megan Bond, KF15, Ecuador
Kiva provides a new lens through which we can view global problems and solutions. Just contemplating a concept like “world poverty” seems like an insurmountable task. It is overwhelming. It is daunting. Kiva helps us focus our concerns for the problems presented by poverty on a global level by allowing us to connect with entrepreneurs in need of a hand up around the world on a more personal level. A loan through Kiva is an investment in an individual or group, a business, and a community. We could take it as far as saying that a loan through Kiva is also an investment in a country, a continent, and a global effort to alleviate poverty.
Kiva lenders make these loans over and over again, choosing the characteristics of the borrower they want to invest in. Perhaps it’s their name (Personally, I like to search for women named Carmelita), their country (I know there are some “Country Collectors” out there!), or the fact that they sell fried food but something (tangible or intangible) connects each lender with each borrower. Kiva Fellows have written about it beautifully in the past. It’s an incredible thing to feel that connection and to invest in someone you will never likely meet in person. But, what if you could meet the person on the other side of the profile? What would you do? What would you ask? I had to think about this as I got the opportunity to meet a borrower I had lent to before I came to Ecuador as a Kiva Fellow.
Continue Reading 21 July 2011 at 12:00 Megan Bond 5 comments
Mud Walls to Mechanical Looms: Borrowers’ Stories
By Megan Bond, KF15, Ecuador
Eight years ago, Manuel told me, their house was very different from the one I was standing in. The walls were made of compressed earth and the roof was constructed out of dried straw. Manuel, his wife Cristiana, and their six children struggled on a daily basis to make ends meet. Looking for a change, they sought their first loan from FODEMI. Eight years and eleven loans later, I stood in their new house/factory. The floors and walls were solidly constructed out of cement and the roof was metal. In the spacious rooms, family members and two hired employees worked at multiple looms weaving thread into cloth.
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
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
Walking a Mile in Her Shoes
Actually, we trekked and climbed about 5 miles to visit Eunice’s farm, and our path was much easier than her typical route. Eunice is a GHAPE borrower and a farmer. She grows potatoes, corn, and beans. Then she sells the vegetables to people from her home. Traveling to the closest market in Belo would be much too far. I rode for 30 minutes on a motorbike to reach her village, and the 5 miles that we hiked together was only the portion of the trip (beyond the village) that was not passable by motorbike. When I announced at the borrower meeting that I wanted to see her farm, everyone warned me that it was very far away – a 3 hour climb. I knew her three hours would be a much faster pace than mine, but I also knew I needed to go.
[caption id="attachment_28169" align="aligncenter" width="819" caption="Faith and Eunice at her farm"]
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Continue Reading 21 June 2011 at 10:00 faithgarlington 3 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.
Micro-finance Family Style
By Heba Gamal - KF15, Lebanon
“It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Gibran Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
Having grown up in Egypt, I know that family is an important part of daily life in the Middle East. So, when it came to my Kiva Fellowship – I knew that in Lebanon I was going to be well-fed, watched over and taken care of. What I didn’t know is how this family-style love I was too familiar with was going to translate into the workings of micro-finance in Lebanon.
Al Majmoua's Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon
When I arrived at Al Majmoua‘s Headquarters in the heart of Beirut, I was met by the head of Human Resources and Business Development, Alia. After a thorough 2-hour overview and introduction to Al Majmoua; one of my first questions to Alia was how long she’s been with the organization (followed, of course, by where the best place for lunch around was). The answer was: “10 years!” The idea of someone being in one organization for that long caught me by surprise, but it wasn’t until I started meeting other Al Majmoua team members that I started realizing that there’s something that keeps people here this long. Dr. Youssef, Al Majmoua’s executive director, has been with the organization for more than 11 years. Nadine, Al Majmoua’s Kiva Coordinator and Research & Development Assistant has been with the organization for more than 9 years. She’s done everything from being a Loan Analyst to Internal Auditing to HR and now Kiva. Nadine even left Al Majmoua for a year, but quickly found herself back at Al Majmoua.
This sense of familial love and belonging isn’t just apparent by the number of years people have been here; it’s in their attitude! In a country such as Lebanon, where sectarianism has had a long and tragic impact on the people and the country – it’s refreshing and inspiring to watch a network of ~170 employees all over Lebanon maintaining a family style work environment.
On my first field visit at the Beirut Branch, the Branch Supervisor, Diala, sat me down for a thorough introduction of the branch operations and procedure. During our conversation she said something that stuck with me: “Everyone at Al Majmoua behaves as if this is their home.” Later that day, I was introduced to Ismail, an Al Majmoua Loan Analyst. He was going to be my guide for the day. The plan was to go meet 2 new borrowers and check on a couple of existing Kiva borrowers.
Ismail's "Motto"
I had been carefully asked and semi-warned the day before by Nadine that I will be joining Ismail on his scooter or as the Lebanese call it “Motto”. Ismail was zooming through the Palestinian refugee camps and neighborhoods only like a local from the area would. Micro-finance is highly dependent on social relationships and reputation within the community. Ismail is a local; when he walks the streets of Beirut’s suburbs and refugee camps people know him as their neighbor. During our field visits, we ran into his father-in-law and cousin separately.
When Al Majmoua first started in the late 1990′s half of its staff was made up of former borrowers. Now with ~170 employees and 14 branches across Lebanon, Al Majmoua still tires to keep the family connections strong. Today, roughly 30% of the loan analysts are former Al Majmoua borrowers themselves or are friends and/or relatives of current borrowers. Utilizing SMS technology, Al Majmoua’s HR team sends out job vacancy ads to their pool of borrowers to get referrals and applicants. This sense of “community first” extends to the interactions between borrowers themselves and how they view Al Majmoua.
Father & Son Al Majmoua Borrowers - Beirut, Lebanon
In “relationship-driven cultures”, like Lebanon, personal relationships are built on the basis of social interactions especially within the family and community. My first stop with Ismail was a new female borrower, Nadia; she heard about Al Majmoua through her sister-in-law who is on her 3rd loan cycle. Next we stopped to check up on longtime Al Majmoua borrower Mohamed and his son, Salah, a recent Al Majmoua borrower as well. During our visit, borrowers greeted Ismail and I like family. Often inviting us into their homes or businesses for an afternoon drink or snack. They often asked Ismail if he had received a call from a friend or a relative that they had recommended Al Majmoua to. Word-of-Mouth seems to be the organization’s strongest and most effective marketing tool.
Besides being well-fed and taken care of as part of the family, I’m thrilled to be a temporary family member of an organization that stays true to itself and its community!
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??
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 3)
This is the final installment of a three-part article on ‘The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field.’ The first concentrated on the pros of microfinance and the second on the cons. This third part will describe what I deem to be the optimum conditions for successful microfinance.
The cons described in Part 2 of this article may come across as quite negative, but at Interactuar (in Antioquia, Colombia – my second Kiva Fellowship) I saw many being countered and microfinance working particularly effectively.
Continue Reading 25 May 2011 at 07:06 nickhamiltonkiva 5 comments
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 2)
This is the second of a three-part article on ‘The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field’. The first part concentrated on the pros. The second will focus on the cons.
Most of the cons described below demonstrate one thing; microfinance assists on a micro level but is unable to affect macro-level influences. The latter are the main reason that people are impoverished in the first place.
Continue Reading 24 May 2011 at 06:27 nickhamiltonkiva 3 comments
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 1)
The article will be published in 3 parts. The first will concentrate on the pros of microfinance, the second on the cons, and the third on what I perceive to be the best conditions for successful microfinance.
Continue Reading 23 May 2011 at 07:29 nickhamiltonkiva 5 comments
Video Blog: Interactuar – A Quite Amazing Organisation
By Nick Hamilton, KF14
I have just come to the end of a 3-month Kiva Fellowship with Interactuar, Kiva’s Field Partner in the state of Antioquia, Colombia. I was blown away by this organisation. ‘The Google of Microfinance Institutions,’ I kept thinking to myself.
Continue Reading 19 May 2011 at 08:05 nickhamiltonkiva 1 comment
