What We Do: Micro-Enterprise Development

"Investing in microfinance is like a perpetual gift. Money repaid gets recycled into new loans, giving others a shot at moving up the economic ladder." - Business Week

The Ugandan entrepreneur was determined to close the deal with the Swedish businessman. His sales pitch was persuasive, and effective. The Swede bought the Ugandan's entire inventory and made a material investment in the business.

The entrepreneur was an 8-year old boy, and his business inventory consisted of a single candy bar. Every day he would rise before dawn and gather with the other boys to purchase their inventory. They would then compete for the best "storefronts" - street corners or hotel entrances - and work hard to sell their candy bar for a slight mark-up. Then they would race back to the supplier and buy another candy bar and start the process all over again.  

The Swedish businessman was so impressed with the boy's drive that he loaned him enough money to buy his own box of candy bars. The boy paid the money back within a month and now has his own sales force of vendors. A twenty dollar loan changed his life forever.

Experts from the World Bank to Citibank now agree: one of the most powerful ways to permanently transform the lives of a poor person (and their family) is to loan them the little bit of capital they need to move from barely surviving to generating enough surplus to grow their business.

The possibilities are almost unlimited, depending on the local market opportunities and the entrepreneur's motivation and ingenuity. Loans may be used to start a small vegetable stand, set up a jewelry shop, or buy supplies such as a coffee grinder for selling coffee on the streets, a cooler for selling cold drinks, a refrigerator to store their meat, a sewing machine for clothing repair, or shoe cobbling tools. You'd be amazed at how little it can take: most loans are less than $200; many are as small as $50 or less.

African American Self-Help Foundation is proud to sponsor a micro-loan program in Uganda in cooperation with our partners at Charis Center. Last year the Charis Rural Development Trust ("CREDIT") made some 71 loans ranging in size from $50 to $250. Here are just two of CREDIT's success stories:

• Jennifer Kafuko is a 50-year old peasant woman with no education but a great work ethic. She started selling tea by the roadside, using her own small teapot and two plastic cups. With the help of a loan from CREDIT, she was able to open a small retail shop in her village and can now send one of her children to school.
  
• Wilson Wanyama is a 45-year old disabled man who couldn't find work because of a physical disability. Through a loan from CREDIT, he is now the proud proprietor of a small store, and has gained dignity and independence.