Microfinances

Microfinance - What is it?

 

Microfinance is not a gift.

 

It is a small amount of money that one borrows and repays at dates decided in advance in a short period of time. 

 

Le microcrédit n'est pas un don.

 

When one has repaid the loan one can take another loan if the payments has been made correctly and one has raised the revenue.

 

It happens a lot that people has good ideas how to start or enlarge an activity, but they do not have the money to get started. 

 

Most of the time th loan is given for a short period of time. The repayment is normally done during 6 month. In case for agricultural activity it might be longer ( from 6 month to one year).

 

How do one receive microfinance?

 

First of all one needs to know how to manage a small business. To be able to do this one needs to know how to read, write and count. There are courses of "elimination of illiteracy" that are open for everybody to attend to.  

 

The persons who wants the microfinance need as well attend to meetings of information on how to start their small businesses.

 

The steps are as follows:

- First of all the person needs to present a micro-project with activities for which he/she wants the microfinance.

- The person put her micro-project in the hands of a microfinance committee which analyses the request. The committee gives their consent or denies the request.

- If the request is granted,  the borrower signs a contract with name, amount and for how long. On the contract is also stated when payments should be done and with how much. Very often the payments are done each week or every two weeks. 

- The persons who receives the loan must participate in information meetings once a month where they can ask their questions and receive advice if needed.

 

The supervisors make sometimes visits in the field as well. They receive or give in this way information like:

- the acitivities of the loaners

- problems with the harvest

- normal schedule for a day in the field

- the opinions of the microfinance they have received

- the role of the reigious institutions

- if there are any problems and in that way they can give advice

- raise the awareness of saving

 

According to the United Nations, discrimination of women on the labour market regarding receiving loans, and by laws that marginalizes women, they are more exposed than men in economical and social crises, to HIV/AIDS, to wars and ethnical conflicts.  Furthermore, article 13 and 14 in the United Nations convention regarding women (CEDAW) state firmly among others the right for women to recive all form of loans and invite governments to take proper mesasures to eliminate this discrimination.

 

EEB plays this role in this project, diffusion of training in networking, human rights and microfinances. The training is done in seminaires of training in human rights in general and conventions concerning women and children, with admission of microfinances to women in the regions where EEB works. 

Woman with harvest of peanuts

Plantation started with microfinance

Commercial garden started through Microfinance

Commercial garden started through Microfinance