Community Owned Revolving Fund

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.

HOW DOES THE FUND WORK?

The fund has been designed as a revolving community fund. This means that once the initial loans are repaid, that money is then given out as new loans to allow more women to start new businesses.

The fund is owned and managed by the community and does not make any profit – it’s really set up purely for the benefit of the community. It allows for women to try new and/or slightly risky business ventures. Ultimately, this is aimed at creating opportunities for these courageous and dedicated women to earn a regular income and set up a meaningful life for themselves and their families.

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP

The community currently meets regularly. Initially a volunteer NGO officer will manage the fund and discuss loans with the community members. But over the course of three years, the community members will take ownership and decide who receives a loan and manage the flow of funds. It also means that women are more likely to repay the loans as, in a sense, they are paying back the loan to their fellow community members. In time, investments can also be bigger, say for a community-wide project.

SUSTAINABILITY

Over time, as the fund can loan out larger sums of money to community-wide projects, the community will become less reliant on aid. This type of self-managed loan fund really empowers the community. The people can decide which businesses or projects get funds, and can direct funds to the areas of the economy that it sees as needing investment.

THE BENEFITS

  • Women receiving the loans will also receive training on how to regularly save and repay the loan so they can succeed in become financially independent.
  • Loan repayments will be in line with the expected income of the women receiving the loan so they will be less likely to fall behind on a repayment
  • The women will also receive training in skills related to running their business (eg. skills for home gardening or goat rearing)
  • A 12-18 month loan will allow the beneficiary to take small risks which they ordinarily couldn’t, for instance, goat-rearing requires an initial outlay to buy the pregnant goat and only a small income for the first 12 months. The mother goat is then sold in the market. As the birthing cycle is established, income becomes more regular.