Global Business Assist microfinance, community development
Monday, September 06, 2010
Helping the world's poor help themselves through micro-finance, busine
 International Partners:
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An Akuem, Sudan, loan group Treasurer submitting his group’s repayment to the micro-finance loan officerThis past month I waited with anticipation for the first quarterly report from our micro-finance staff in Northern Bahr el Ghazal (BEG), Sudan. Two of the various sections of the report include “successes” the fledgling program has experienced as well as “challenges” the BEG team is facing. Of course, the details under the heading “successes” are typically a much easier read than the information contained in the section under the caption “challenges.”
As I initially scanned this report, I was immediately caught by surprise by one of the problems the BEG team was experiencing as they traveled into remote communities to present our micro-finance program. The report stated that in many areas where our loan officers visited, there were general threats made in regard to our staff’s personal security as well as varying levels of unrest among many of the interested community members.
This information was startling, primarily because the GBA program had been received with such enthusiasm initially during its start-up phase. However, on closer inspection of the report, the reason for dissatisfaction from potential Sudanese clients was that there were not enough funds available to provide to all of those interested in the micro-lending program!
In fact, as we recruited clients for our first several hundred loans, over 3,200 villagers showed up for micro-credit interviews! Much of the local villagers’ agitation stemmed from the reality that GBA did not have enough loans to go around nor even the resources necessary with our two loan officers to interview all 3,200 plus applicants!
Of all the challenges listed by our Sudanese team, this was the hardest hitting — The need is too great and our capacity is too small!
Small Investments Result in Big Dividends in Africa
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The situation with our micro-finance program in Ghana is not much different from that of Sudan. While three new lending groups (a lending group is typically composed of six individual loan clients) were recently added to the Sunyani municipality program in Ghana, the waiting lists are long for new micro-clients.
Why the wait? Simply stated, there is a lack of available funds. In fact, an organizational review conducted recently indicated that an additional thirty thousand dollars in loan capital is needed in order to bring the Ghana program to the point where interest income pays all organizational administrative expenses in Ghana. Without a sizable loan portfolio, the operational trend for the program is to shrink, not expand.
Dear friends, we need your help. Over these past months you have read the powerful stories of families whose lives have been changed as a result of the empowerment they have experienced through a simple one hundred dollar loan. Can you help us expand these programs, both in Sudan and Ghana? Financially, we need your assistance in order to make micro-power a reality for Africa’s poor.
Thirty thousand dollars for Ghana may seem like a lot of money, but how many can boast of a thirty thousand dollar investment perpetually empowering the lives of potentially tens of thousands of people? I can not think of a more worthy investment for a company or individual.
With sincere appreciation for your involvement in the lives of the world’s poor,
Douglas Mann
President, GBA
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