By Deborah Smith | WMI Board Member and Treasurer
Dear Supporters:
Something that distinguishes WMI from other microfinance organizations is the amount of time and effort we put into training. And we do it very well. Many in our leadership ranks across East Africa are also primary school teachers. So they know how to reach their audience and keep them engaged with a variety of training methods. They are also graduates of a United Nations Train the Trainer program, so not only are they qualified to train our borrowers, they also know how to train the large staff of loan coordinators who work directly with the borrowers collecting payments and provide peer mentorship and business advice. Some of our training is formal, some is through peer group or one-on-one mentoring. We’ll have a large session for all first time borrowers, and smaller 20-member sessions for individual loan groups. The Loan Coordinators meet directly with the borrowers monthly to provide further training as needed, as well as specific advice regarding record keeping or marketing.
But no matter how much we train, we can always do more, so we offer refresher courses constantly. Our borrowers go through an extensive training session before their first loans, learning how to keep records and run their businesses, as well as how to use and repay their loans. They also sit for follow-up training after additional loans. Our leadership uses their critical thinking skills, constantly honing their training lessons developing new ones as issues arise. For example, our loan coordinators recently met for training on how to deal with problem borrowers, and to share information on how they avoid fraud and other trickery. Such brainstorming has resulted in new borrowers having their picture taken with their local council official so they can’t deny they were given a loan. As a result our borrowers are the highest quality and our loan default rate remains very low.
Our goal in this training is not only to be able to run a sustainable loan program, but to meet one of our visionary goals: to develop local leadership and human capacity. Training and retraining our borrowers as they progress through our four loan cycle helps them to keep excellent business records, hone their entrepreneurial skills and increase their self-confidence. The key to WMI’s success is that women become empowered. Now in its 15th year, we are excited to see these skills being passed on from mother to daughter. Since there is no formal “job market” in rural East Africa, everyone must create their own job. What better way than to train your own daughter while expanding your business outreach?
We wish you a happy summer as we all learn to deal with our new Covid world. Thank you so much for your ongoing support of rural East African women. Your generosity and consideration choosing to support WMI is giving African women the chance to work their way out of poverty and stay out of poverty. Every contribution, every act of kindness, every outreach gesture is gratefully received and put to good use.
With best wishes,
The WMI Board of Directors
By Rachel Blackmore | WMI - Tanzania Leadership Team
By Cindy Matsiko | WMI Intern
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