WOMEN’S MICROCREDIT PROGRAM

The Mali Initiative believes in the potential of local people and all our projects aim to unleash this. In 2005, we were approached by a group of women form the community of Kalabankoro (30km from Bamako the capital) to help them set up a micro credit program for underprivileged women in the area. The women spoke at length about the challenges of being a woman in Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world. With little or no income, these women have the responsibility of having to raise their children, send them to school, keep them healthy, feed them and look after the family home. The women felt that a micro credit program would help better deal with their challenges.

The Mali Initiative invested AUD$10,000 into starting up the micro credit in 2006 and since the program has grown to benefit about 100 women. How the Micro Credit Works:

Women friendship groups form a group of a max 10 women
Each group selects president
This president collects repayments on the 1st Sunday of every month
When a group approaches the micro credit program they must agree to the condition that they will start an enterprise with the money and live in Kalabankoro Kulaba and Kalabankoro Heremakono area. Two local women leaders do the training to show how to manage money before each new cycle so women know how to manage and develop their enterprise.
The borrowing happens in cycles of 8 months. A women who borrows 50 000 CFA +20% interest, divide this by 8 months and that is what she pays every month. Her repayments must be made by the end of the cycle (8 months)
Salary of the program manager and data entry come from interest made.
When the cycle has finished, a new cycle starts. Women can increase their borrowing at the start of each cycle by 5000CFA.

There has been much progress over the three years it has been running, including:

Started with 65 women and now 100
99% loan repayment rate
First loans given to each woman were between 5000- 15000CFA (AUD$12.5 – $37.5). Now each woman can get between 50 000-150 000 (AUD$125 – $375). This is reflected in the growth of their businesses.
The local market of Kalabankoro Heremakono is thriving because of micro credit and women starting new enterprises.
Enterprises include food stalls, fruit and vegetable sellers, shoe sellers and cake makers.
In the current cycle 5 725 000 CFA (AUD $14, 312) has been distributed to women. This will be repaid by the women over 8 months and will generate a benefit of 829 000CFA (AUD$2072) to be reinvested into the program’s capital.

In July 2009, the Mali Initiative has invested again into the microcredit program to allow more women to join and to professionalise the program so it lasts for a long time. Check for progress on this in the news section.

09.09.2009 15:44:29