Crowdfunding: A Cure to the World's Social Problems?

This blog was written by Lendwithcare lender, Jan Tchamani, and originally posted on DuCredit's website. It has been re-posted here with permission.

 

The Chitimba Women's Group, supported by Jan through Lendwithcare

Crowdfunding activity has been on the rise for a few years. With the rise of Kickstarter and other platforms, no sector benefits more fruitfully from crowd funding initiatives than the 3rd sector.

Micro-finance initiatives allow anyone to invest small amounts of money which make a huge difference to entrepreneurs and workers in the third world. Allowing them to provide a sustainable future for their families.

We asked one UK based donor, Jan Tchamani, one of AgeUK’s current internet champions, why she chose to give through crowdfunding and tell us a little about her experience of charitable giving through LendWithCare.

"It’s really important to me to do charitable giving, even though my means are quite limited. And, let’s face it, everyone has limits. Also, because I’ve been learning about sustainable development over the past few years, it’s also important to me to give in a way that’s responsible and environmentally-friendly.

Ever since I was at school, I’ve been fundraising. I think my first foray was running a sponsored music  day when I was a pupil at Stourbridge High School in the 1970s, raising funds for the Sunshine Children’s Home. I played the piano, as a soloist and accompanist, from 9am to 5pm, friends sang and played instruments, and I still remember what fun we had, and what a buzz it gave us when we handed over the money we had collected to the school secretary to send off.

When I was in my 30s, I was able to go overseas and do two years of development work in the Lobi tribal area of Burkina Faso, W Africa. I was teaching in a school for community leaders: mostly French language, since that was the language of administration, and the students had to be able to write letters and deal with officials. Other development workers were teaching well-digging or composting, treating ailments, organising conferences to bring local communities together, or getting the local languages written down in order to preserve them. Everyone was doing something useful. The Lobi are very dependent on subsistence farming, and therefore on the climate, so I saw at firsthand how important it is for charities who get involved in developing countries to be aware of the right way and the wrong way to intervene. I’m satisfied that Lendwithcare know what that right way is: small amounts lent, rather than given, and to people who have a solid business development plan.

I’m no longer able to travel abroad and help, but doing my bit is still very important to me. Although my means are modest, I’m still so much better off than some of the entrepreneurs the organisation is helping. I tend to go for individuals, and I tend to favour farmers who are trying to cultivate more efficiently, and get to a point where they can employ people and have enough produce to spare to sell it at local markets so, for example, they can afford to improve the house they live in, install a simple irrigation system, or pay for their children’s education.

I’ve been with Lendwithcare – run by CARE International UK – for about a year. I think I saw an ad for them on Facebook, and followed up. Lendwithcare.org offers a way of giving online that provides microfinance for entrepreneurs in developing countries. The entrepreneurs concerned have to have a strategic development plan, and the amount they want to borrow is calculated exactly, to the nearest pound.

Lendwithcare gives you plenty of information about the individual entrepreneur on which to base your choice, including a photograph. You can start with a loan as small as £15, and you can see how near their borrowing target the person has got. You get a notification email when they’re 100% funded. There’s also a repayment schedule. Nobody I’ve lent to has ever failed to pay back the scheduled monthly amount, and they often pay back faster, which goes to show how effective the borrowing is in improving their situation.

I get monthly emails from Lendwithcare – they’re great at communicating, but they don’t bombard me, and they never use emotional blackmail. In fact, their emails are always the first I look at when I open my inbox, because they’re always positive: “X, whom you helped, is now fully funded!”, a thank you, or news that all of my £15 has come back and I can reinvest it. Looking back over 2014 and the number of people I managed to help with my £15 gives me such an amazing feeling of being connected to people in other parts of the world – people who are really trying to improve their lives, and the lives of their local communities. The minimum investment amount of £15 is so small, really – the price of a simple pub lunch for two, or a couple of cinema tickets."

Register on Lendwithcare today and join Jan in supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries work their own way out of poverty.

Diary from the field - cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia

Head of Lendwithcare, Tracey Horner, has embarked on a challenge of a lifetime. For the past seven days Tracey, along with ten other CARE supporters, has cycled from Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam to Battambang in Cambodia (a gruelling 460km) to raise vital funds for CARE's poverty-fighting programmes. 

Before peddling off into the Mekong Tracey met with one of Lendwithcare's newest microfinance partners, MACDI, who are based in northern Vietnam. 

What follows is her diary from the first six days.


Day 1:

I left a very cold London bound for Hanoi and the first leg of my trip.  Since my trip comprises a field visit to our partner MACDI; a presentation to one of our corporate supporters, Hogan Lovells; a 460k cycle ride; and some beach holiday time at the end, I had to pack a rather diverse range of clothing!

I always look forward to visiting our partners and meeting some of the entrepreneurs we are supporting and although I am looking forward to the challenge of the cycle adventure; having never done anything like this before, and being under prepared I have a bit of trepidation about what might lie ahead.



Day 2:
 

Arrived in Hanoi at 6am and checked into my hotel. I expected it to be cooler in Hanoi than in the south of the country but not 15 degrees as it has turned out to be. I decided to have a wander round Hanoi to get my bearings, followed by a couple of hours sleep.  Min Thai, the CEO of our partner MACDI, came and picked me up for lunch and took me to Hanoi's Ethnology Museum which provided a fascinating insight into the different groups of ethnic Vietnamese. It became clear why so many of the Lendwithcare Vietnamese entrepreneurs have very similar names.  There are only around 60 different surnames in Vietnam, and each area has around five different surnames.  I ended the day with a little stroll back to the hotel, giving myself time to take in this vibrant city.



Day 3: 

Today we went on a trip to the famous Ha Long Bay.  It was a 6 hour round trip to get there but it was well worth it - despite the weather being cold, cloudy and foggy.  Later that day I met with Regan Leahy, from Hogan Lovells citizenship team, who is accompanying me on the field trip since she is taking part in the sponsored cycle ride later in the week.

Day 4:

Regan and I left the hotel at 8am to travel three hours to Hoa Binh province where some of the entrepreneurs we have supported through Lendwithcare are located.  The car journey gave us the opportunity to learn more about MACDI's work from Min Thai and in particular learn about the broader work they do in addition to microloans.  It is clear that Min Thai is passionate about her mission to improve the lives of poor people, particularity those living in remote rural areas of Vietnam.  


Life is very hard indeed if you are far from a town or city with few assets and no access to formal financial services. The closer we got to our destination the more obvious the difference became between the big cities and the rural communities. 




We arrived at MACDI's tiny office which is home to five loan officers and one other member of staff.  The office is rented at a very low cost from the local authority.  We also met with two local officials who told me how much they value the work of MACDI - particularly the work they do to improve the environment by helping people install bio gas facilities to turn their animal waste into gas.  


They also mentioned that they appreciate the training that MACDI give to borrowers, training in things like animal care, protection of the environment and home sanitation.





To see some of MACDI's assistance in action, Regan and I visited a home that was in the process of having a bio gas plant installed.  It was a very interesting process to see. It starts by digging a massive hole in which they put the chamber that the waste will flow into and later be turned into bio gas. 

MACDI worked very hard to set up a relationship with a local bio gas installing company to negotiate a good price for their borrowers. A part of the agreement includes after care assistance, which ensures that if there is any future maintenance needed the borrower is able to access this help for free or at a greatly reduced price.

This is the theme that ran through my visit, MACDI linking people with the private sector - and also trying to link borrowers to appropriate markets for their products.

After watching the bio gas installation, we visited a couple more entrepreneurs. Part of a Lendwithcare evaluation is to check a random sample of entrepreneurs that appear on the website and ensure that all the details match up with the loan that the borrower has received.

Every house we visited began with a ritual of pouring us all some green tea - delicious but there is only so much green tea you can drink in one day!

That night we stayed in the only hotel in the area.  It was very cold in this mountainous region - so cold that both Regan and I slept in our clothes!

Day 5: 

Regan and I left the hotel at 8am and ate a bowl of Pho (noodle soup) for breakfast and visited a number of Lendwithcare entrepreneurs.

The first women we met was called Phoung Dinh Thi. 

One of the things I always ask Lendwithcare entrepreneurs about is their children and on this occasion, as soon as I did so, Phuong Dinh Thi started to cry.  She explained how, her disabled daughter had died only last May.  

She had spent months prior to her daughter's death at home caring for her daughter and had to spend all their meagre savings on medical treatment.  As a mother who has also lost a child it was very hard to listen to Phuong Dinh's story and not be visibly moved. 

Phuong Dinh has one other child and she said that the loan from Lendwithcare has helped her a lot since she was able to buy some pigs and chickens as well as 10 geese which will provide an income for her and her family.  In the future she would like to buy a motorbike as this would make her life a lot easier - it is very remote and she has to walk a long way with a very heavy load to take her rice to the mill and then the local market.  She would also be able to take her son to school which is a 6km walk away.

Between visits we stopped along the roadside many times to buy produce from local people; Min Thai said she always likes to buy from the local people. She is actually in the process of setting up a website to showcase products to others in Vietnam and help her clients find a market for their products.

At the end of a long day of meeting Lendwithcare entrepreneurs we returned on the three hour journey to Hanoi and spent the night in Hanoi.

Day 6:

The next day we visited Hogan Lovells in their Hanoi office to give a presentation about Lendwithcare and have a meeting with Hogan Lovells and the MACDI staff. 

Min Thai took the opportunity to set up the sale of a pig from one of her borrowers to a Hogan Lovells staff member. As the new year (Tet) holiday is approaching it is common for people to buy lots of food for the celebration.
 

Later that day I flew from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city to stay the night at a colleague's house. Tim Bishop works for CARE International UK but is based in Vietnam as a Regional Private Sector Engagement Specialist, he has been working for many years on promoting the role of business and markets in development and has a fantastic blog, which I highly recommend.   

Tomorrow the cycling starts ... and I have to say, I'm not quite sure I'm ready for this ... I'll keep you posted!

By Tracey Horner

Finalists for Lendwithcare Grassroots Entrepreneur Awards announced!

Public voting has closed for the 2014 Lendwithcare Grassroots Entrepreneur Awards and the ten most popular entrepreneurs, featured below, have been passed to our expert judging panel to pick an overall winner.

The standard of entrants has been extremely high. Every one of the 33 nominees is inspiring and has demonstrated an incredible level of enterprise and entrepreneurialism, often in the most challenging circumstances. The Lendwithcare Grassroots Awards recognises the most innovative and determined small businesspeople in poor communities in the developing world. The Awards celebrate creativity, enterprise and innovation, and prioritises social values and poverty alleviation.

It’s now down to our able panel of high profile names from across the business world to come to a final decision. Alastair Stewart, Deborah Meaden, Levi Roots, Nick Hewer, Richard Reed, Sir Stuart Rose, have a difficult decision on their hands! 

 Leonida Bironga Makori

 

Leonida, from Kenya, is a 32 year old entrepreneur. She has been involved in the franchise business for CARE’s Group Savings and Loan (GS&L) project. So far, Leonida has trained over 50,000 individuals on CARE Kenya’s GS&L project. She also supplies carbon-free cook stoves and micro solar lamps to GS&L members on credit, which has improved the individuals’ lives as they have been able to pay for these appliances in installments. She has distributed over 644 carbon-free cook stoves and 636 micro solar lamps to her community through the GS&L programme. Through her work with the GS&L programme, she has employed 30 community-based trainers, whom she pays from her own income, creating long-lasting community change.

La Morm

La Morm, from Cambodia, is a seamstress with a difference. She is incredibly committed to investing in her community and decided to take out a small loan to purchase sewing machines to train local apprentices. Apprentices pay $12 to be trained by La Morm over two months and once they have completed their training can take the machines home to start their own businesses. The machines cost £150 each and apprentices take on this loan if they choose to take the sewing machines home. This entrepreneurial education education has transformed her community forever.


Bora Mau

Bora, from Cambodia, is a truly dynamic entrepreneur. She used a small loan to invest in both her husband’s welding business and her fish and chicken farms, increasing her profit margins to between 20-30%. Bora Mau believes education is crucial in the fight against poverty, and in addition to investing in her businesses, the entrepreneur set-up a school where she teaches over 100 local children in the morning and evenings.

 Anwar Bibi

Anwar, from Pakistan, is an embroiderer. She went through critical illness and her son died in a fire accident, inducing heavy medical expenses. She started embroidering with her daughter, earning little. After a loan, she expanded to six employees, and now plans on sending her children back to school. She turned her fortunes around, even becoming an earning source for others. Anwar has proved that if you are determined, you can turn things around for the better. Apart from providing a better lifestyle to her family, she has also become a source of income for four families.


Bertha Nkhata

Bertha, from Malawi, runs a bicycle taxi business alongside her smallholding farm. This taxi business enables her to pay the school fees for her two children as well as buying a solar light to enable the family to be productive in the evenings and use basic kitchen equipment. Bertha also employs casual labourers for her farm, thus creating much needed local employment.
She is happy to know that she is a self-sufficient woman, giving her independence rather than having to always rely on her husband.


Teresa

Teresa, from Egypt, first took a loan of just £17 and purchased ducklings. She was able to repay the loan and earn some money. The whole family work in poultry and expanded their business with further small loans. She encouraged her friends and neighbors to form Village Savings and Loans groups and she trained them on how to raise ducks. Moreover, her group members elected her to be the chairwoman. Being the group chairwoman affected Theresa’s character, and the leadership and decision making skills she has  learned have changed her community.


Appoline Ahossi 

Appoline, from Benin, produces cassava flour and tapioca. She only employs young women and girls, paying them fairly and allowing weekends off, as she believes in women’s potential to be an economic driving force in Benin. She has employed up to ten women simultaneously. Aware of environment protection, Appoline uses clean, fuel-efficient stoves in her production.



 

Elisabeth Houessou

Elisabeth, from Benin, is an example of achievement and innovation in her village. She has overcome a variety of problems related to her production and has managed to become a quality producer of gari (cassava flour), also innovating and developing new products like a snack from coconut milk and sugar. Also, Elisabeth employs staff permanently, always recruiting women in difficulties showing solidarity with other women and a desire to help her community. Finally Elisabeth has been training women in the production of quality gari for 10 years, passing on her knowledge to other people.


Amake Albiro Ogoudele

Amake, from Benin, produces cassava flour, employing eight full-time staff, and exporting her produce across the Nigerian border. During the busy December month, she hires more staff. Aware of environment protection, Amake uses fuel-efficient stoves to reduce firewood consumption, and participates in reforestation campaigns. She is a role model for her community.




Victorine Fianyo

Victorine, from Togo, is a fantastic example of how microfinance can give people living in poverty the opportunity to transform their lives. 18 years ago, she accessed her first loan of just £25 to buy basic ingredients for her ‘Kom’ (a corn meal very popular in parts of West Africa) stall which she set-up outside her home. Today she produces Kom wholesale, has built her own shop where she sells a diverse range of goods, employs seven people, and can afford to send all her children to school. Indeed, much to the entrepreneur’s great pride, her fourth daughter has just gone to Germany to complete higher education – something quite rare indeed.

Have your chance to invest in next year's Grassroots Entrepreneur of the Year and visit www.lendwithcare.org today!