MICROLOAN PROGRAM
In 2012 Maasai Partners established a microfinance loan program to present women with a way out of their limited economic opportunities.
Partnering with Women’s Microfinance Initiative (WMI) we offered the loan program in Alailelai village and Karatu district.
Microfinance loans available to women in these poverty-stricken areas help to stabilize incomes and improve living standards. To date, more than 800 women have launched successful businesses and accumulated savings through this popular and effective loan program.
After years of intense collaboration between Maasai Partners, WMI and local loan leaders, the program is now functioning completely independently.
Business training is interactive and includes role-playing, which fully engages the participants
Lacking Funds For Basic Family Needs
Maasai women living in remote areas like Alailelai have limited access to the outside world. Maasai do not have an active cash economy and are not permitted to do subsistence agriculture within the conservation area where they live. As a result, they lack the money necessary to provide food and medical care for their families’ survival. It is difficult to meet basic family needs.
Women living in Karatu district are somewhat more fortunate, with many market opportunities and small subsistence farms. Compared to Alailelai, Karatu district has a stronger cash economy, as that area is more integrated into the country’s overall development. With that said, Karatu’s inhabitants still have a very low average daily income.
Prior to the loan program, lack of access to capital limited the women’s participation in the opportunities offered by their local markets. Now, with the Maasai Partners/WMI loan program, women have seized the opportunity to improve their earning potential and living standards. Microfinance offers confidence and financial independence for hundreds of women. This program involves an intensive two-day training to impart business techniques and strategies for women with a variety of interests to generate group loans.
Look for personal stories of loan recipients throughout our blog posts.
The loan training breaks down the fundamentals of running a business and teaches about things like budgeting
How Our Microloan Program Works
Requiring no collateral, loan groups of 10 to 25 borrowers receive $100-500 per person, with a 10-percent flat interest rate. After a six-month term, successful borrowers are eligible for follow-up loans and increased amounts. Built into the program is a requirement that they save at least 10 percent of the loan in order to receive a follow-up loan. Most women will tell you that this is one of their favorite parts of the loan program—it forces them to have savings.
After 24 months borrowers transition to self sustainability through group bank loans. Freed-up loan money is then used to fund new borrowers. Loan interest generates funds for administrative costs and business skills training for the new borrowers, enabling them to run the program themselves.
That money will be used again and again for new businesses as the loans are repaid, providing help when it is most needed.
Learning about budgets helps to make businesses successful