Guest Blog - This Christmas, give the gift of giving.

This Christmas, give the gift of giving.
Posted on 30 November, 2014 by Keith Channing

Hang on; I didn’t mean that.

This Christmas, give the gift of lending.

For some months, my wife and I have been involved, in a small way, with Lendwithcare, a micro-finance organisation set up by Care International, one of the world’s leading aid and development organisations.

Microloans from CARE International UK The premise is simple: an entrepreneur in one of the world’s least affluent areas proposes a business idea to a microfinance intitution (MFI). The MFI approves the plan and grants the requested loan. The entrepreneur is then helped to construct a profile that appears on the lendwithcare.org web site. Supporters (that’s you and I) visit the site, select a profile that interests them, and make a contribution to support it. Once the full amount is reached, it is sent to the MFI, releasing their funds to support another entrepreneur.

As the supported business develops and grows, the loan is repaid, and the repayments find their way into your account with lendwithcare. You can then either withdraw them or, more likely, use them to finance another entrepreneur; and so the virtuous cycle continues.


What’s so great about this? Let me tell you what I think:

My money doesn’t go into a ‘pot'; I choose which individual or group is going to benefit from my contribution, based on a good amount of information about the applicant(s) and the business proposal. It’s personal. Many years ago, I was on an emergency blood donor list. On more than one occasion, when we were called to the hospital for an emergency bleed, we (usually only three or four of us) were introduced to the patient who would be receiving our blood. A cup of tea and a rich cream biscuit never gave that feeling!

The full amount of the loan goes to the desired recipient. There is an (optional) addition of 10% of the amount loaned to help cover the running costs,

It is a loan, not a gift; it can be re-used,

I have often heard the hackneyed ‘give a man a fish and you feed a man, teach a man to fish and you feed a family'; think what happens when you lend a man the money to buy a fishing rod, or maybe to repair or upgrade a fishing boat.

One of the people I have been privileged to support in recent months is a Togo man, married with two small children. He owns a small computer shop that provides office services such as photocopying, word processing and computer training. He also sells computer and office equipment.

He applied for a loan to buy a new photocopier and to expand his business. He is also keen to transform his small shop into a training centre, to pass his knowledge on to others. His ultimate goal is to build up his business so that he will be able to provide a better standard of living for his family.

Like most of the people I have been privileged to support, in many walks of life and across three continents, he is fully funded, and is on target with his repayments. The repayments that arrive in our account are all used for new loans.

What has all this to do with Christmas? Simply this: follow this link to lendwithcare.org, and buy your loved one, your friend, your colleague the gift that, quite literally, keeps on giving – a lendwithcare gift voucher.

Lendwithcare microloans making big differences in Togo, West Africa

A couple of weeks ago, Ajaz (Lendwithcare's Microfinance Advisor) and I headed out to Togo and Benin in West Africa to conduct the annual evaluation of our microfinance partners. Whilst there we also met some of the entrepreneurs receiving Lendwithcare loans.

 - Nancy Thomas, Lendwithcare Executive

 

If you follow the debate on the impact of microfinance, you will be aware that one of the criticisms often put to microfinance practitioners is that microcredit only serves to support subsistence and/or unscaleable businesses. However the following two entrepreneurs I met on our recent visit to Togo showed me quite the contrary.

Meet Philippe Adanglo ...

Philippe in his workshop 

When we visited Philippe’s shop/training school on a hot and dusty day in February, it was an absolute hive of activity. In the main portion of his workshop, 15 young apprentices sat busily working away on clothes orders. Philippe currently owns six manual sewing machines (one of which he bought with a small loan funded by Lendwithcare lenders) so those who were not operating the sewing machines, assisted by tacking and preparing the material for sewing. At the side of his workshop, in an extended area, we were introduced to another 15 apprentices who were gluing, ironing and putting finishing touches to various items. 

Philippe welcomed us in with a big smile and open arms. We did not realise from his modest loan request quite how impressive his business actually was. He set-up his own tailoring business with three helpers about 14 years ago after learning the trade from his uncle and receiving a diploma as an apprentice. He now, with the help of 35 local apprentices, makes 100s of uniforms for schools and companies as well as the occasional bespoke item. And all of this on manual sewing machines! Philippe told us that he and his staff meet their current demand comfortably and he is planning on expanding operations in the near future. In fact, in the shorter term Philippe has plans to open a haberdashery next to his workshop so he can sell cloth and accessories alongside his tailoring services. 

Apart from building a successful business, what really impressed us about Philippe was the opportunity his business now provided for numerous young people from the local area through his apprenticeship programme. In total he has trained 80 people in the trade, all of whom received a diploma and graduation ceremony once they completed their apprenticeship and most of whom have gone on to set-up their own businesses. Philippe trains all of the apprentices himself and is helped by his more experienced apprentices as new people join. Philippe has now taken out a second small loan to buy more material in bulk so they can meet the growing demand of their customers and get a better price by buying in bulk.

Philippe & apprentices

And Akuwa Keke ...

Akuwa and I (Nancy)

We met Akuwa the day after we visited Philippe's tailoring shop and were very impressed by her obvious entrepreneurial skill and spirit. After her husband died ten years ago Akuwa knew she needed to find a way to adequately meet the needs of her two daughters so she started to consider different income-generating activities. She used to sell porridge from a stall on the street but this did not provide her with a sufficient or stable income so, with encouragement from her sister, Akuwa slowly started to expand and diversify her trade. She now buys a variety of goods from the port and grand market in Lome (the Togolese capital) in bulk and then sells them at retail to people in the local vicinity. These goods range from colourful cloth and children’s toys to furniture and pianos. Akuwa visits the port and sees what is being imported and which items she thinks will sell well in the area where she lives and buys these items in bulk. Akuwa told us the goods she sells come from all over the world, particularly China. 

And Akuwa's business ideas do not stop there. In addition to selling these goods, Akuwa also grinds corn to make a type of powder popularly used to make soup. She exports large bags of this corn powder via middlemen at the port to Europe and other parts of the world. Akuwa hires three people to help her with this activity since it can be a laborious task preparing the corn into the powder. The list of activities Akuwa is engaged in is extensive and before we were about to leave she also wanted us to try some of the frozen yoghurt she makes and sells on the street to passersby. She sells these for 2 cents a bag and they are delicious!

Ladies grinding corn at Akuwa's home

 
It was an absolute delight to meet both Philippe and Akuwa (and the 13 other lendwithcare entrepreneurs who welcomed us into their homes and their businesses) during our trip and although I am not suggesting these two examples represent all recipients of microcredit, I do think it extremely important we avoid viewing microcredit and all its recipients homogeneously. 

To learn more about lendwithcare entrepreneurs visit our website www.lendwithcare.org or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for latest news and discussion.

Video updates from Togo part three: “A small loan is like oil in an engine; it allows people to move forward"

Finally, part three of Tracey's video updates from her April 2013 trip to Togo is here! Here are also parts one and two for some context.

To round off my blog/video updates from Togo, I wanted to share with you some lasting impressions from the trip.

The passion and commitment of the WAGES staff

Many of the office staff began their careers as Loan Officers, including the General Manager, Ramanou Nassirou who, when talking about the entrepreneurs said “most of them know how to run their business, we just provide them with a small loan to get them started - a small and affordable loan is like oil in a car engine; it allows people to move forward". 

I have already written about how WAGES supported clients who lost everything in the massive fireswhich swept through the great markets of Lomé and Kara last year and this demonstrates further the commitment that WAGES have to improving the lives of their clients. 

The importance of a good loan officer

 A good loan officer will take time out of their incredibly busy work schedules to support entrepreneurs beyond simply disbursing loans and collecting repayments. This makes a huge impact on the lives and successes of the people they serve and their businesses  and I saw it time and time again with the WAGES' staff.

Yaya’s story: Yaya was one of the very first entrepreneurs to receive funding from Lendwithcare back in 2010.  Yaya told me there has been a big difference between before the loans and now.  He is able to send his children to school, they eat three meals a day and his business has ensured the health of his family. Recently one of his children was sick but he was able to afford to pay the hospital fees – something he’s sure he wouldn’t have been able to do before.

What access to finance really means

Access to financial services such as loans and savings accounts are absolutely vital to people who would otherwise never be able to move their business beyond the most basic hand to mouth existence. 

Assiahame’s story: I met Assiahame at her small hairdressing salon in a side street of Atakpamé.  She told me that her salon alone didn’t have enough regular customers, so her loan enabled her to diversify into selling jewellery, bags as well as hair pieces. Before finding out about WAGES she had previously used a money-lender who charged her 50% interest on her loan and used to hassle her for the repayments.

And that like any small business, there are many challenges and although access to credit helps lessen the burden, it is not always enough ...

The need to diversify when things get tough

William’s story: I had met William a year ago and was struck by how important he is to his village, near the town of Atakpamé.  Not only is William a fisherman employing twelve people in the village, he is also the local Pastor.  This year when I met William he was starting to diversify his income sources as it is becoming harder and harder to make a living from fishing.  He told me that fishing was only good for three months of the year and it was becoming increasingly difficult to make that income last.  As is typical of men like William, rather than just accepting the situation he was thinking of other ways in which he could earn a living.  He had just started a very small business, selling musical instruments and has now taken a loan so he can grow this business.

I hope you have enjoyed this small window into the lives of some of the entrepreneurs featured on lendwithcare.org.  I really enjoyed meeting them and hearing their stories.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who made my time in Togo so enjoyable and rewarding, especially Felix Kilinglo and the Loan Officers from the Atakpamé branch; Forgive, Lolonyo, Sylvain, Success, Dodji, Emmanuel and Esso and Mensah Dakevi, the WAGES lendwithcare officer and Sambieni Yarikoi who accompanied me for all my time in Togo and were the perfect example of the warmth and hospitality of Togolese people.

Tracey Horner, Head of Lendwithcare

  

Video updates from Togo part two: collecting updates from the field

After the first part of our video updates from Togo in July, the wait is finally over! Here is part two, at last.

In my first blog about my trip to Togo, I mentioned that visiting our microfinance partner, WAGES, was of particular interest to me because of CARE’s long-standing relationship with the institution. However, the main purpose of my trip was to respond to our lenders’ desire for more updates on how their loans have impacted on the lives of the people they have supported.  So I travelled to WAGES to provide the loan officers who work with Lendwithcare some further training on how to provide updates and more specifically how they can use film to bring these updates to life.

The training was led by professional film makers Fiona Molloy and Nik Wood (the people that also put together our fab TV ad!) and I have to say the loan officers really enjoyed learning the tricks of the trade from Fiona and Nik.  They particularly enjoyed learning how shooting different kinds of footage rather than simply zooming in and out can improve a film.

These three women had specific messages they wanted to pass on to the Lendwithcare lenders:

1.  Akouvi Amouzou – a fish monger from Togo. Akouvi told me “it feels good to be able to build my own house, hire staff to increase revenue and have money for when my children are sick”

2. Ama Nyabledzi – a market trader from Togo. Ama proudly announced when we visited her at her stall that “my palm oil is the sweetest on the market!”

3.  TchallaAdjo – a grain seller from Togo. At 69-years-old Tchalla had generated enough income from her business to build her own house, which I was lucky enough to be shown around

By Tracey Horner, Head of Lendwithcare.org

Read the final part of Tracey's video blog from Togo!

Video updates from Togo part one: providing small loans to the financially excluded

In April I travelled to Togo to visit WAGES, our local microfinance partner, and a number of the micro-entrepreneurs we have supported through lendwithcare.org.  It was a particularly interesting trip for me because when I first started working for CARE International back in 1997, the “Women & Associations for Gains both Economic and Social” (WAGES) project was in the process of moving away from its origins as a small-scale group lending programme set-up by CARE and was transforming into an independent Microfinance Institution (MFI). I remember how CARE’s end of project evaluation had concluded that the WAGES project  was having such a positive impact on the lives of poor women and in order to help the many more thousands of people who could benefit from micro-loans, WAGES should became an independent entity.  This is why when we set up our lendwithcare.org initiative in 2010, WAGES was an obvious choice to be one of our very first partners.

Sixteen years on and WAGES has grown into an incredibly successful and committed MFI - reaching more rural clients than any other microfinance provider in Togo and helping these clients (predominantly women) create better and sustainable livelihoods for themselves 

Clients like Abla and Bawana (both market traders) who told me, as women, that it was impossible for them to get fair and affordable credit before they became members of WAGES:

Or Kokou (a farmer) and Kossiwa (a market trader) who said formal banks would never lend money to people like them

By Tracey Horner, Head of Lendwithcare.org

 
Read part two and three of Tracey's video blog from Togo!