Visit of the new FSD Coordinator

Today the Chorkor branch received the visit of the new FSD Coordinator, Miss Elise Ponson. As some of you may remember, the FSD (Fund for Social Development) is a fund managed by the French Embassy which aims at bringing a direct support to local NGOs.
In our case, we are receiving this support for the second time, for the development of our 0% interest loan aiming at the most deprived micro entrepreneurs that we call "Kick Start loans".
Elise came on field to discover our methodology and she met with the Mokosane group, made of 13 Kick Start loanees. 2 of them got their loan in June, the rest in July. The average amount they got is GH¢ 44, which they all used in their business, like Rosemary Mensah (see photos below) who purchased Nigerian soap with it, which she sells in her community. In addition, most of the group is now saving GH¢ 1 to GH¢ 2 per week, while before they joined ID-Ghana almost none of them was saving. This kind of behavioural change is made possible thanks to the training the Social Mission team (in this case the Kick Start loan project manager, Godknows Kporha). He gives such trainings on a weekly basis to our Kick Start partners. After all, one could say that the Kick Start loans project is more of a financial education programme than a financial scheme. For rather sooner than later, our ambition is to see these special product beneficiaries be empowered enough to be able to manage a loan on their own, and access greater capital through our "standard" products...

Kick start loans started at ID-Ghana!

The Kick Start loan project, funded by the French Embassy in Accra, has started on field with the first batch of disbursements at the branch of Chorkor.
After receiving their third training, the 9 selected women were given between GH¢ 40 and GH¢ 50 each. These micro entrepreneurs will pay no fees or interest for these very small loans (for amounts so small, we can talk of nano-loans). They are mostly fuits and vegetable vendors and the aim is to upgrade them in two or three loan cycles at a level of activity that enables them to take a more standard loan through our Onipa Nua groups.
This project is not driven by the financial team but by the social mission team, as a lot of emphasis is put on training and monitoring of micro entrepreneurs (or should I rather say nano entrepreneurs...?)
contrary to our other loan products Onipa Nua, this product is an individual one and is offered only to women. However, Kick Start loan partners are encouraged to join a group as early as possible to facilitate their integration later and they are equally encouraged to save each and every week, even a minimum amount.

Signature of the FSD funding contract

The contract between the French Embassy in Accra and ID-Ghana was signed today by the French Ambassador in Accra, HE Francis Hurtut (right) and the Executive Director of ID-Ghana (Romain Tevels, center), in presence of the Deputy Director of ID-Ghana (Bruno Achana, left).
As mentioned in a previous article (see this blog on 9th, January), this funding of € 24,000 over one year will enable ID-Ghana to develop an new loan product meant for the most deprived micro entrepreneurs of Accra. This product, named "Kick Start loan", won't have any interest or processing fee.
The idea is to identify potential micro entrepreneurs in a particularly difficult situation that does not allow them to manage a "standard" loan. A reinforced social follow-up would enable them to deal with the financial help (i.e. the loan) that ID-Ghana would give them. In a time span of one to two loan cycles (approximately 3 to 6 months), the micro entrepreneur will be in a position to upgrade herself and take a normal loan through our 'Onipa Nua' group methodology.


See also the related article on the French Embassy web site.

French Embassy visit in Sodom and Gomorrah (Agbogbloshie)

The Agbogbloshie branch received a new visit from the French Embassy this morning.

H.E.Mr. Francis Hurtut, new French Ambassador to Ghana (who arrived last September) and Mr. Arnaud Dornon, Head of Cooperation and Cultural Services (who joined the Embassy at the same time) visited our beneficiaries with Mrs. Marie-Hélène Hoba, the Press Attachée of the Embassy and Mr. Julien Morel, Coordinator of the Social Development Fund (who already visited us last March).
The field visit took us to the slums of Sodom and Gomorrah where many partners (i.e. beneficiaries) of ID-Ghana live and work. Benjamin Sackey, the Branch Manager of Agbogbloshie, guided us in the narrow streets of the slum, one of the biggest in Accra in terms of population (more than 30,000 families live there!) but also probably the most precarious and deprived. It has indeed been threatened with displacement and destruction for many years and has therefore never been on the top list of Accra Municipality to develop the infrastructure and the provision of basic amenities to the dwellers.
The visit was an opportunity to show the Embassy the wide variety of occupations of micro entrepreneurs met: homeopathic pharmacy, grocery store, tailor, etc.
The visit carried on to the yam market where nearly 2,000 vendors sell goods spilled from the trucks coming from the Sahelian regions of Ghana (North).
Three years after the development of a loans and savings methodology for markets supported by the French Embassy, we have applied again today for a support of the Cooperation Services to develop a "Kick Start" loan product. This product, originally developed by ALIDé in Benin, could enable us to reach the poorest families by offering them free of guarantee a loan of about GH¢30 to GH¢40 (€21 to €28 approx) without interest or processing fees. We would then be able to propel within one or two loan cycles maximum these families towards a more classic loan product with interest. This pilot project, which we hope will begin in the first quarter of 2009, would make it possible to propose to the poorest segments of the population of Accra an opportunity to develop an economic activity and provide them with a a long-term partnership by offering them access in a first-time to these "Kick-Start"loans and then in a second time, in addition to training, to our existing products' Onipa Nua' (group loans in residential area) and 'Front Desk' (loans with repayment at the counter, in market areas).

Sodom & Gomorrah is an area located in the heart of the city and officially unpopulated.
It is shown in red on the map above

You can also access the article of the French Embassy in Accra on this visit by clicking here.

The success story of August in Benin

The Head of Social Mission, Edmond, tells us another edifying story this month of a kick start loan partner. A native of Agbodjèdo, Dame Lucienne grew up with her uncle in Sèmè-Podji, between Porto-Novo, the political capital, and Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin. After his death, she returned to Agbodjèdo in Cotonou and married Mr. Benedict A., a jeans and clothing salesman. They have 4 children, 2 of whom attend school. Her 14 year old daughter Honorine got awarded the Certificate of Primary Studies this year and Ella, who is 11 years old is entering the 5th grade. Unfortunately, her youngest daughter Solange who is only 7 failed to finish her 1st grade, as her mum had to look after a sick aunt at the hospital and did not have time to follow her progress. Raphael, the youngest of the family is still at home. Dame Lucienne and her husband briefly stayed in a family home in the Agbodjèdo district before moving into their own little place, a two-bedroom bamboo shack owned by the uncle of her husband. Dame Lucienne was selling jewelry, scarves and cosmetics. But while she had to be at the hospital, she asked a neighbour, who did not care much to man her stall. She subsequently suffered big losses and ran out of working capital. This major setback did not affect her commitment and determination to improve her situation. Straight away, she embarked on a new venture and started selling gari (cassava) and small goods (peanuts and sugar). Her friends knew how enterprising she was, and were not surprised to see her on the rebound. She was also lucky that a neighbor who saw her modest display of goods for sale told her about ALIDé. Lucienne therefore applied for a kick start loan and received a first loan of 10000 FCFA. She was able to diversify her stock with candies, packets of washing powder, condensed milk... (see picture on the left, prior to the lon, and on the right, after the loan) Thanks to the loan, she was also able to upgrade her stall and get some more stools, plates, small plastic buckets and boxes to present her wares. Soon, her daily income increased from 1 500 FCFA to 4 000, and even sometimes 5 000 CFA francs per day. And because she knows the ropes of the business, Lucienne does not sit on this money. Every morning after setting up her stall, she asks a neighbour to watch it and goes to Dantokpa market to buy more stock. She also attended a useful training with ALIDé on credit management, so is now aware of the danger of spending too much money on clothes, make up or funeral expenses, and she focuses first and foremost on her business needs. Every day at 7 o'clock in the morning, Lucienne installs her goods outside in the street and can stay up until 11 o’clock in the evening, even midnight if it’s a busy day. Dame Lucienne got her second loan last month and plans to acquire a bigger stall soon. Her dearest dream is to provide her children with a good education, so for the coming school year, she’s already registered her three daughters with the local school.