Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Fall 2007 : Africa Update
Africa Update
Sub-Saharan Africa’s countries span an astounding cultural, linguistic, and natural diversity. Yet, for all its rich resources, it still faces many challenges, with 300 million people living on less than $1 a day.
To address the growing crisis, Grameen Foundation launched its Africa Strategy, a bold plan to expand into 10 Sub-Saharan countries, serving 350,000 microfinance clients by 2008.
The plan will serve more individuals like Victoria Ubebe of Nigeria. Her family, like many in Nigeria, could only afford her primary school education. When she became a parent herself, she wanted to make sure her children could attend university. So she sought to expand her roadside business selling snacks, but had no collateral to lend from local moneylenders. She heard about Grameen Foundation’s partner LAPO who does not ask for collateral and offers drastically lower interest rates. With her loan, she’s now able to offer a wider selection of foods and has a refrigerator to sell cold drinks. Her monthly profit averages 14,000 Naira (USD 111), and she is able to put about $2 in savings every day.
Assisting more women like Victoria will require what Malini Tolat, Regional Coordinator for Africa, calls a “three-tiered approach” in the region. GF will work on local (micro) issues such as strengthening individual microfinance institutions. In addition, mid- and macro-level issues will be addressed, such as ensuring government regulations are friendly to microfinance and building the health of professional associations that support the industry. To assist in creating and implementing the Africa expansion, GF formed an Africa Advisory Council, a group of volunteers and experts on the region. We invite you to read through our special Africa Update to learn more about our progress in the continent.
Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Fall 2007 : Africa Update
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
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