new-horizons-jul2009-eng

NEWHORIZON | July 2009 July 2009 | NEWHORIZON Page 3
They say
anything’s
possible when
we set our
hearts and
minds to it. At
ECLOF we create
the conditions
for clients to
find new
possibilities
I was visiting Sri Lanka recently when I talked about
a disabled musician in Uruguay who we have
helped make a living. And it immediately struck me.
Microfinance is about creating possibilities for people
who may feel they are running out of options. Part
of our job is to help our clients believe “I can do it”
and “I’m worthy of a better life”.
When you’re at the bottom of the economic
ladder, few things seem possible. You can’t upgrade
your house. You can’t afford medical treatment.
And you can’t send your children to school. If you do
try to improve your precarious finances, you’re up
against loan sharks who’ll fleece you or banks who’ll
show you the door.
This is where ECLOF comes in. We loan our clients
money at fair rates, and we advise them on business
and we help them understand money and become
better entrepreneurs.
ECLOF’s staff around the world - especially our
loan officers - work in sometimes “impossible”
conditions. Every day, they’re venturing into no-go
areas. They’re navigating dangerous roads to visit
distant clients. And they’re among the first to go
back to zones hit by cyclones, floods and tidal
waves. In short, our loan officers step inside their
clients’ shoes.
This issue of New Horizons once again showcases
partnerships between ECLOF and its clients around
the world – partnerships that make the impossible
possible. You can read about:
• a family of seven that has carved out a business in
a tough neighbourhood of Colombia’s capital.
• farmers in Uganda who are making good money
from organic vanilla
• a Sri Lankan woman whose shoemaking business
now employs 12 people
• a Jeepney driver in the Philippines who escaped
the clutches of loan sharks
• a single father in Peru who, at almost 50, has
started a sausage making business
• a seamstress in Tanzania who shares the fruits of
her success by taking in women in distress.
At ECLOF we are delighted to help these people
overcome their marginalisation.
Our daily contact with them reassures us that
what we do is relevant. I hope you will enjoy their
stories as much as we have!
Irene Banda Mutalima,
Executive Director
Director’s Message
Making dreams possible for the world’s poor
Reflection
Helping African NECs grow wisely
African NECs could
learn some tips from
the early church, to
help the needy get
their fair share
National ECLOF managers across Africa have met
in Moshi, Tanzania in June 2009 to discuss how to
manage their growth. And we could learn a few
tricks from the apostles who helped the early church
expand nearly 2000 years ago.
1. They spoke the people’s language
During the Feast of Harvest (Pentecost), Jews
scattered throughout the Diaspora came to
Jerusalem to celebrate. At one such feast, Jesus’s
disciples spoke in the native tongues of all the Jews
from diverse backgrounds. Peter shared the salvation
message and converted 3000 people.
2. They gave selflessly and were honest
Converts were convinced Jesus was about to have a
second coming. Over several months, they lived in
communes, sharing food and possessions.
So how did the disciples ensure there was enough
to go round? They gave selflessly (Acts 4:35-37) and
ruthlessly punished dishonesty (Acts 5:1-11). Thus,
the portfolio quality stayed up!
3. They rooted out unfairness
Back then, their management information
system(MIS) was good old gossip! Before long, the
disciples heard that Greek-speaking Jews were losing
out on their share. The disciples met and chose
seven men to handle the task of poor relief.
These first office-bearers were chosen for their good
reputation, their wisdom (or know-how) and for
being full of the Spirit. It was hardly a glamorous job.
Taking care of the needy was hard work. But it did
pay off with an increase in Christian witness.
So how do we broaden our funding base across
Africa, and position ECLOF for growth? Here are
some suggestions:
1. Hire efficient staff with honed credit intuition
2. Set them performance targets
3. Monitor them to target the entrepreneurial poor
4. Root out and ruthlessly deal with dishonesty
that erodes the portfolio quality
5. Get a very efficient MIS.
Albert Essamuah, ECLOF International Board
member and Chairperson of ECLOF Ghana
See eclof.org and the next issue of New Horizons for a
report on the Africa workshop.
Contents
New Horizons is published by ECLOF International
and distributed without charge among ECLOF
members and other interested parties who request
a copy. New Horizons is printed in English and
Spanish and is available online at www.eclof.org in
English, Spanish, French and German.
The opinions expressed in New Horizons do not-
necessarily reflect the positions of ECLOF.
NEWHORIZON|July2009
ECLOF International
P.O. Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 791 63 12
Fax: +41 22 710 20 05
Website: www.eclof.org
E-mail: office@eclof.org
Coordination at ECLOF
International: Roger Said
Editor: Kath Burke
www.kathburke.com
Designer: Andy Mattock,
www.origin8creative.co.uk
Print: Wyndeham Grange
Spotlight: Bolivia 4-5
Bolivia’s poorest farmers are growing
organic quinoa, installing solar panels and
leasing dairy cows
Meet the clients 6-10
Tanzanian housemaids
retrain to knit sweaters 6
Uganda’s vanilla farmers
earn up to 20 x more 6-7
Corn dough snacks earn
family new home 8
Sausage-making sizzles in Peru 9
Mother makes shoes to pay
for schooling 10
Partnerships 11
Philippines food security
impresses partners 11
Hot topics 12-13
Bright outlook for microfinance 12
ECLOF news people 14-15
People moves 14
Kenya ECLOF collects for
starving millions 15
Back story 16
Jeepney driver builds up his fleet 16
4-5 Bolivia
Hardy farmers fetch a great
price on organic quinoa
6-7 UGANDA
Clued-up vanilla farmers
boost yields and income
12-13 Financial crisis
Recession calls for
cautious optimism
Microfinance is about
creating possibilities
for people who may
feel they are running
out of options
If you would like to comment on an article, or you have an idea for the magazine,
please email roger.said@eclof.org or Kath@kathburke.com
On the cover: Arlene Hermoso, a Filipino rice farmer visited by ECLOF partner
Bread for the World, see page 11. (Photo by Christof Krackhardt/Brot für die Welt)

Some of Latin America’s poorest farmers are building a
better life with help from ECLOF
ECLOF is helping Bolivia’s farmers grow higher-value crops, move into dairy farming
and generate their own electricity.
ECLOF Bolivia – called ANED – has launched some innovative loan products to help farmers grow organic quinoa
for export, lease higher-yield dairy cows and install solar panels.
Bolivia’s indigenous farmers are some of the poorest and most isolated in the world. Although rich in mineral
and energy resources, Bolivia has a wide gap between rich and poor. Two in three Bolivians are of Indian origin,
most of them scraping by as farmers, miners, small traders and craftspeople.
Aned helps the rural poor through microleasing, microwarrants, money transfer and risk capital.
Here we showcase three ways ANED is working with partners to help rural farmers prosper.
High hopes for
Bolivia’s farmers
Spotlight
Solar power helps children
do their homework
Households helped: 17,000
Loan value: US $150,000
Region: Bolivia-wide
Partner: Bolivian Government
Project launched: November 2006
Useful website: www.idtr.gov.bo
“Thanks to this loan we now have light and
energy – and our children can do their homework
in peace.”
Elisban Huisa, 32, who borrowed US $310 over
2 years.
Solar power is ideal for Bolivia’s farmers who live
miles from the mains under dazzling blue skies. The
alternative is reading by candlelight, or carrying a car
battery into town to get it recharged for a fee.
The Bolivian Government estimates that about
700,000 rural households are without power. So
it has launched a campaign to install up to 17,000
solar panels all over Bolivia by 2012.
ECLOF is helping the Bolivian government
finance large numbers of solar panels. Under the
programme, ECLOF lends the farmers money to buy
solar panels, which act as security for the loan. So
far, ANED has loaned 5000 rural farmers money for
solar panels, across 7 out of 9 departments.
Before the Infraestructura Descentralizada para
la Transformacion Rural (IDTR) scheme, ANED lent
farmers money individually for solar panels.
A typical solar power system includes a 22-75
Watt panel that charges a battery while the sun
shines. At night, the battery can power 3 compact
fluorescent (energy-efficient) lights, a mobile phone
charger, a radio and a TV.
Dairy farmers lap up
over twice the yield
Families helped: 11
Loan value: US $18,000
Region: Sucre in the east
Partners: Christian support organisation Food for
the Hungry International
Project launched: August 2008
Useful website: www.fhi.net
“Thanks to ANED, I have replaced my cattle with
better breeds which give me 20 litres of milk per
day instead of 8 litres.”
Dairy farmer Julio Quispe, 35. Mr Quispe borrowed
$US1693 over 18 months.
Mr Quispe is one of 11 dairy farmers in Tomoyo who
are thriving since they’ve begun leasing cows from
ANED. Microleasing is normally used for machinery
and equipment, rather than for livestock. But ANED
is testing the concept of leasing cows instead.
The Tomoyo farmers have leased 15 pregnant cows
from ANED over an 18-month term. Once they have
paid up, the farmers can keep their cows and calves.
ANED runs the pilot project with Food for the
Hungry International, which provides a veterinary
service and technical support. If the project is
proved to help farmers, 30 more places will be
added in the next tranche.
Key facts: ECLOF Bolivia (ANED)*
• US $12.6 million in loans outstanding
• Over 80% of loans to people in rural / remote areas
• Nearly half of ANED’s 12,145 clients are women
• 42 branches across 8 of Bolivia’s 9 departments
(covering 90% of the population)
• 134 staff
• Founded in 1978 by 11 social organisations
• Since launch, ANED has lent clients nearly US $100 million
See www.aned.org for more details
Organic quinoa boosts
farmers’ income
Families helped: 700
Loan value: US $1.1 million. Plus US $100,000 in
technical help
Region: 13 towns in the Southern plateau
Partners: microfinance organisation CIDRE and
AUTAPO, a university-backed foundation.
Project launched: July 2005 (ended July 2008)
Useful website: www.cidre.org.bo
“I have twice extended my quinoa fields to 12
hectares. The yield is now about 30,000 kg. The
extra income has covered my debts and paid for
our family’s expenses.”
Ayda Mamani de Cruz, 41, borrowed US $3,000,
repayable over 2 years. Her harvest has doubled with
a new annual income of US $19,000.
Farmers from Bolivia’s high plateau are making
a better living from growing organic quinoa for
export. Certified organic quinoa carries a large
premium over grown produce.
Protein-rich quinoa is a staple food in the Andes.
But farmers barely cover costs on the surplus they
sell because urban Bolivians prefer wheat to quinoa.
Since July 2005, two universities in south Bolivia
have been helping farmers, wholesalers and
shopkeepers take organic quinoa to international
markets. The AUTAPO Foundation – set up by the
universities of Potosi and Tarija – has given technical
help and money.
ANED has loaned farmers money with help from
fellow microfinance institution CIDRE (Centro de
Investigación y Desarrollo Regional – Centre for
Regional Research and Development).
Farming is a harsh life in the stunning southern
altiplano. It’s over 3,000 metres above sea level,
temperatures fall below freezing most of the year.
And the annual rainfall – most of it hail – is a mere
12cm. The winds are fierce and the sun is blinding.
And the alkaline soil is often encrusted with salt. Luckily,
these are perfect conditions for growing quinoa.
Julio Quispe
has leased two
Holstein cows
from ANED. These
are the world’s
most productive
dairy cows,
yielding 18-20
litres of milk a day
Bolivia at a glance
Full name
Republic of Bolivia
Population
9.7 million (UN, 2008)
Capital
Sucre (official), La Paz
(administrative)
Area
1.1 million sq km
Major religion
Christianity
Life expectancy (UN)
Men: 63 years
Women: 68 years
Main exports
Soyabeans, natural gas,
zinc, gold, silver, lead,
tin, antimony, wood,
sugar
Gross national income
per head
US $1,260
Source: bbc.co.uk
Ayda Mamani
de Cruz is fully
paid up and is
making a good
living farming
organic quinoa
BRAZIL
ARGENTINA
PERU
PACIFIC
OCEAN
BOLIVIA
picture:SeanHawkey
*asof30April2009

A group of former housemaids in Tanzania are
supporting their children by knitting cardigans for
school uniforms.
Glory Group shows the women how to use
knitting machines and feeds and houses them with
their children until they’re trained up. The Group is
made up of 28 former housemaids in Arusha. Most
of the women - aged 13-19 - fell pregnant while in
service and were abandoned by their babies’ fathers.
Chairwoman Vicky Mziray recovers some training
costs through the women’s wages. Each woman
gets paid based on the number of sweaters she can
make in a day – generally between five and nine.
This gives her a daily wage of between T SH 2500
and 4500 (that’s US $2 – US $3.50 a day, which
compares well with Tanzania’s gross national income
of US $400 a year).
“All of us in this project are disadvantaged girls.
We were housemaids in different families and ended
up being impregnated by men who neglected us
and our children,” say the Glory Group women.
“Thanks be to Mrs Mziray, we can now afford our
rent, food, clothes and medical bills for our children.”
Through Glory Group, Vicky is on her second loan
of TZA Sh10 million (US $7,600) over 18 months.
She is buying 18 knitting machines and threads with
the money.
The women are helping Tanzanians save on
expensive imported garments. Until Vicky trained
in sweater-making in Nairobi, and brought back
her skills, school uniforms had to be imported from
neighbouring Kenya and Uganda.
Vicky, who is married to John and has three
grown-up children, is grateful for ECLOF’s help in
empowering Tanzania’s abandoned ladies.
“ECLOF is part of us. The staff keep on sharing
with us, advising us and together we plan the way
forward,” says Vicky. “We came to ECLOF because
they listen to us. They always have time for us.
Thanks be to God that, even poor as we are, we can
get credit from ECLOF.”
Single mothers knit a future
for their children
Vicky Mziray has
been teaching
young mothers
to knit sweaters
since 1998. She
got the idea while
volunteering for
a local church
project
MEET THE CLIENTS
Some of Uganda’s poorest farmers have increased
their income ten fold or more by moving into
organic vanilla farming.
ECLOF Uganda has helped 723 poor farmers
get organic certification for their vanilla, through a
partnership with a company that cures and exports
the organic beans.
In tandem with Coetzee Natural Products, ECLOF
has helped many smalholders boost their earnings to
US $40 a day – a good 20 times the typical earnings
for a poor subsistence farmer.
Vanilla farming is a big investment because you
can’t start harvesting vanilla pods until the plant is
three years old. And curing the pods takes three
months before they’re ready to sell.
ECLOF buys the harvest off farmers while Coetzee
cures the vanilla, tests its quality and finds an
overseas buyer.
ECLOF has lent to U Sh125,840,000 (US $60,000) to
farmers across the Coetzee project, which runs across
five districts near the Ugandan capital Kampala.
ECLOF Uganda’s Executive Director Naate
Masangazira says it’s important to help farmers grow
cash crops.
“Most Ugandan farmers are the poorest of the
poor - consuming everything they produce,” he says.
“This is why we’ve intervened to help them improve
their livelihoods.”
Under the deal, Coetzee employs field staff
who inspect the farms to make sure they are up to
international organic standards. Coetzee cures the raw
beans, tests them for moisture and vanillin content,
and gives German clients the samples they need to
check the beans conform to European import criteria.
Coetzee’s Managing Director Gordon Jones says
training farmers in the best ways to improve their
vanilla yields also helps them get more out of their
land generally.
“We show them a tidy farm that looks good.
We show them how to work at the right time, and
get more yield from the farm, how to make good
compost out of manure, and how to trail the plants
from a small tree,” he says.
“This can help them get up to 25 per cent more
yield from their crop.”
Life is sweet for Uganda’s
vanilla farmers
Reaping the
benefits: farmers
are earning up to
20 times their old
income – thanks to
an organic vanilla
project
Vanilla farming has transformed Damulira Dithane’s
life over the past year. Damulira, who is part of
the Magada farmers group now has a new house,
has bought two cows and some land and is
sending his children to good schools. Banks won’t
lend him money, he says, because he lacks land
titles as collateral.
“Before I started vanilla farming, we used to live
miserably in a small mud and wattle house with little
hope of ever getting enough food,” he said.
“I’ve now managed to buy two Friesian cows, which
provide milk for my family. We sell the surplus. We
have got 10 more acres of land and I send my children
to reputable schools. I’m well connected with a new
cell phone. And my greatest achievement has been to
move to a newly built house.”
Damulira, 64, and his wife Nanfuka, 48 have 10
children aged from 17 to 28.
ECLOF Uganda has lent the 33 members of the
Magada Farmers Group U Shs 3,300,000 (US $1,750)
to pay back over 12 months.
Hard work pays off for Damulira
Damulira Dithane
tends the vanilla
vines on his farm
in Uganda
Vanilla secrets
Vanilla is a creeper vine related to the orchid, introduced to Uganda in 1912.
Ugandan farmers started growing vanilla for export in the 1930s.
A well-tended vanilla plant will produce two harvests a year for up to 10 years.
Because it’s native to South America rather than Africa, the farmer has to hand
pollinate each flower. That could mean pricking the stamens of several hundred
flowers with a pin every morning.
The sweet smelling extract we know from desserts comes from the green vanilla
bean. Vanilla essence has about 60 chemical elements in it. Curing starts by heating
the beans up for several minutes to release enzymes, and then putting 10kg at a
time in a blanket in a sweat box. The beans get a daily 15-30 minute sunbathe for
the next three months until enough vanillin is produced.
Farming: hard facts of life
• ECLOF helps 2,043 Ugandan farmers improve on a typical US $1 - $2 a day income
• Warehouse receipts from ECLOF Uganda helps coffee growers, maize growers
and vanilla farmers get credit
• Most farm workers are women, growing their own food. 70% of farm produce is
eaten locally – eg plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes, and bananas
• 81% of employed Ugandans work on farms
• Farmers produce 36% of Uganda’s gross domestic product and 31% of exports
• One-third of Uganda’s land is farmed

A Colombian woman supporting her blind husband
and six children has doubled the family’s income
with ECLOF’s help. The family has now moved out of
a one-bedroom tin shack and into a two-bedroom
home with its own bathroom and water tank.
Doris Martinez is on her ninth loan cycle with
ECLOF Colombia, boosting the family’s income to
US $200 a month.
Life has been tough for the Martinez family since
moving to Ciudad Bolivar, a crime-ridden part of
Bogota a few years ago.
But things looked up in 2006, when enterprising
Doris joined a solidarity group for street vendors.
Since then, she has repaid loans, ranging from
US $80 to US $160. The group called Vendedores has
six members.
In 2006 she was walking the streets selling
tamales, a popular Latin American corndough snack.
And her husband Jose sells jellies and sweets as a
street vendor, guided by his children.
Doris specialies in tamales from Tolima, her native
province. Last year, Doris saved up enough to set
up a bustling corn dough stand, where she serves
coffee and sweets and charges customers by the
minute to use her phone line.
“We have a solid place to do our business and we
are finally living in a worthy place,” says Doris. “We
would like to emphasise the flexibility, opportunities
and support offered by ECLOF’s credits. Now we
want to grow even more. Our dream is to own and
run a little supermarket and to put the finishing
touches to our house.”
Enna Sofia Lemus Canon, director of the Ciudad
Bolivar Branch of ECLOF Colombia says Doris has
been an excellent repayer.
“In these two and a half years, we have observed
how the loan has improved her business and the
conditions her family live in,” says Enna.
“This is an incentive for us too, to keep
supporting them in realising their dreams.”
The Martinez fled to Bogota from neighbouring
Tolima province, when guerillas threatened their
lives. Colombia has been ravaged by a decades of
violent conflict involving outlawed armed groups,
drug cartels and hostage-taking.
Some three million people have had to flee their
homes because of the fighting. The UN says that
many such people end up living in shanty towns
around the cities, where they have little access to
healthcare or education.
Family builds new house
with corndough sales
Doris Martinez’s
talames stand
sells sweets too.
ECLOF helps 100
displaced families
like the Martinez
get a foothold in
Bolivar City
MEET THE CLIENTS
A single father has gone it alone as a sausage maker
selling specialities from his native province.
Single father Edmundo Campos was 49 when
he started out as an independent sausage-maker
in 2007. He now competes with big factories to sell
spicy Iberic Chrorizo to exclusive bakeries, bodegas,
supermarkets and cafes.
Edmundo moved to Lima from his native Huaral as a
teenager. And he sold sausages for the sausage factory
“Embutidos Huaral”, and later dealt their products.
He got the idea for the business when a friend
shared some recipes for all-natural Huaral ham
and sausages.
In August 2008, Edmundo got his first loan from
ECLOF Peru’s Northern Lima branch. He has recently
taken a second loan of US $343 through solidarity
group ‘La Solidaridad del Gramadal’.
The money from the business is funding
Edmundo’s 13 year old daughter Yasmin
through school.
“Edmundo is very responsible. He is also a
very amiable person and a valued member of his
communal bank”, says ECLOF Peru’s Credit Analyst
Jessica Correa.
Speciality sausages prove
a hit in Peru
“Our dream is to
own and run a little
supermarket”
Edmundo Campos
makes high-class
sausages for Lima’s
middle classes.
With his savings,
he’s putting his
daughter through
secondary school
The money from the
business is funding
Edmundo’s 13-year-
old daughter Yasmin
through school
Doris has built a
loyal following for
her special brand
of corndough
snacks, tamales.
She is pictured
here with her son
Jesus Alberto

NEWHORIZON | July 2009
A Muslim woman has secured her sons’ education by
setting up a shoemaking factory from her own home.
Fawsul Inaya, from Sri Lanka’s North Western
province, employs 15 Muslim villagers from home
while her husband works as the local headman.
Fawsul decided to top up husband Hamdeen’s
modest government salary by making shoes, a craft
she learnt from her parents.
The 39-year-old mother of three is now on her
second ECLOF loan. In April 2009 she borrowed
Rs50,000 (US $435) to buy leather and faux leather
fabric (rexine). In March 2006, she bought a sewing
machine with a Rs20,000 loan.
The couple’s modest little house - in Pahamune
in Kurunegala District - is a hive of activity. A team
of six women and nine men work from the family’s
small home making 60 pairs of shoes a day in three
styles. Shoes and leather are piled up everywhere.
The business has paid for the Inayas’ sons to
go to school and for la foundation for the family’s
new home. The Inayas’ eldest son Asir, 19, is in an
advanced class at Narammala Central College. And
both Ijas, 12, and Fayas, 7, are in good schools.
The couple plan to move to a better brick house
nearby with a corrugated iron roof. The business can
then take over their current home.
ECLOF Lanka’s Credit Manager Daya
Chandrakumara was impressed with the quality of
Fawsul’s shoes when visiting the business.
“Her shoes are much better than factory-made
ones, and they last longer,” she said. “She can always
find a market for them.”
Programme Manager Gamini Samarasinghe
said the team are impressed with Fawsul’s pleasant
manner and enterprising spirit. It’s still a novelty for
a woman, especially a Muslim woman, to run a shoe
business, he said.
“Generally, in the Muslim community the men
work and earn for the family and women care for
the children and manage the home,” he said. “But
Fawsul has taken the initiative to start a business and
earn for herself.”
Muslim mother’s shoe business
pays her 3 sons through school
Fawsul Inaya
(centre, in the
yellow shawl)
employs six
village women in
her shoemaking
business
MEET THE CLIENTS PARTNERSHIPS
A visiting official from the Church of Sweden has
praised ECLOF Philippines for helping the rural
poor get enough to eat.
Microfinance Advisor Per Söderberg said
lending to poor farmers is a safe financial bet and
also ensures the most needy get help.
“ECLOF has found a good niche with good
returns and that is where we believe ECLOF
should be – providing financial services for poor
agricultural workers,” he said.
In April 2009, Per and his colleague Staffan
Schelin visited projects from the Benguet branch.
Per and Staffan, who is Finance and Projects
Officer, met farmers growing broccoli, chayote
and cut-flowers in the Tuba area.
They also met strawberry farmers in La Trinidad
– which is dubbed the ‘strawberry capital of the
Philippines’. The farmers sell their homemade
strawberry jam and wine, and they charge tourists
a little to pick their own fruit.
Per praised ECLOF for its close links with clients’
local churches.
“ECLOF Philippines embodies one of the core
features of ECLOF that makes it unique among
MFIs: its affiliation and cooperation with local
churches,” he said.
Bread for the World visits
Philippines food producers
Visitors from a German campaigning charity have
met Filipino students, waste recyclers and hog
and rice farmers whose work ECLOF finances.
In November 2008, two visitors from Bread
for the World talked to over a dozen clients
from the Greater Manila and Palawan branches.
Editor Thorsten Lichtblau and photographer
Christof Krackhardt were keen to see projects
that protect the poor from hunger, and that
help farmers grow more food.
Find out more:
http://www.brot-fuer-die-welt.de/english/
index.php
http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/
Partner praises ECLOF
Philippines for helping
rural poor and hungry
In 2008, ECLOF
Philippines has
disbursed loans
worth more than
US $500,000 to
rice farmers in
the province of
Palawan
Photo:ChristofKrackhardt/BrotfürdieWelt
July 2009 | NEWHORIZON Page 11
Solidarity group for Muslim women
Fawsul borrowed through the solidarity group Al-Madeena Muslim Women Society
(Al-Madeena Muslim Kantha Karya Sanvidhanaya).
She was one of 49 group members who took out ECLOF Lanka loans in April 2009.
Many of the women have asked Fawsul and her husband Hamdeen for advice on
how to grow their businesses.
The supported projects include: fruit nursery, spice processing, poultry, carpet
making, wicks making, dress making, soap selling, a shop, making boxes, school
canteen, collecting bottles, sweet industry, making paper bags, garments selling,
vegetable selling, collecting old iron and ice cream selling.

So what may shield us
from the crisis?
1. We check our clients’ finances more
thoroughly The US banks involved in the
subprime fiasco failed to check house buyers’
abilities to repay their mortgages.
2. Our clients’ businesses are more tangible
so loans should continue to be repaid as long
as we only fund credit-worthy customers.
“When we give a loan of US $100, behind the
US $100 there are chickens, there are cows.
It’s not something imaginary,” said Professor
Mohammad Yunus, in The Economist in
March 2009.
3. Steady investment growth According
to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor,
investors have been putting more money into
microfinance. In 2006, foreign-capital flows
were US $2 billion, compared with only US $600
million in 2004. Some insiders have claimed this
means microfinance is recession proof.
How is the financial crisis
trickling down?
But microfinance has taken a knock. Since social
donors and private investors have been reducing
microfinance budgets and diversifying their
portfolios. Big banks have been tighter with MFIs –
even for good repayers.
An Indian newspaper, Daily News and Analysis
–(http://www.dnaindia.com/), reported in April
2008 that small MFIs are starting to have problems
getting new loans from banks or renewing their one
or two-year liabilities.
Some MFIs borrow in US dollars. Because the
dollar has risen against most developing countries’
currencies, MFIs that owe dollars could be in trouble.
For example the Mexican peso lost over a third of its
value against the US dollar in the three months since
October 2008.
How else is the financial crisis affecting developing
countries? Rising unemployment in developing
countries means people have less money to spend. So
sales may be down for the budding entrepreneurs we
lend to. And jobless people in developing countries
may be forced into unstable, poorly paid work.
And rising unemployment in rich countries is also
bad news for microfinance clients. Unemployment
The financial crisis:
why microfinance should stay on course
Since major banks have collapsed or had to cut jobs, journalists have asked
whether microfinance might suffer the same fate too.
Microfinance experts seem split on the question. Some have predicted that
microfinance will be immune to the financial crisis. While others fear there
will be a trickle-down effect. On balance, a spirit of cautious optimism
could be the wisest way forward.
HOT TOPICS
Bolivia is an
example of
microfinance
success
could go up by 20 million by the end of 2009. So
says the International Labour Organisation, which
predicts the jobless tally will reach 210 million by the
end of this year.
As the US and Europe stops building new
buildings and making cars, immigrant workers from
poor countries have been the first to lose their jobs.
Many micro-businesses have been reliant on money
sent home from relatives working overseas. Small
businesses in the Philippines, Colombia, Guatemala,
Mexico, Ghana and Nigeria are especially at risk.
The UN fears education, health and social care
could suffer in the developing world. That’s because
the national governments can’t borrow so much
from banks and because their economies will slow
down in the recession. The report for the UN,
“Impact for Social Development” published in 2009,
says that the poor will be hardest hit by the financial
crisis unless they have a safety net.
Helping microfinance
stay healthy
This economic crisis is our biggest opportunity and
challenge. It could be our chance to show how:
• You need to know your clients and their situation
• Credit risks should be controlled
• Banks can help poor people in rich countries too
We should persist in our good work. After all,
microfinance has grown with little help from
commercial banks. So we should have some
immunity from their crisis.
We need more schemes to support microfinance
through tough times. The International Finance
Corporation (IFC) and German development bank
(KfW) have set up a US $500 million fund for MFIs.
We need more of this.
Traditional banks have got a lot of government
help and attention. But what’s being done to support
MFIs? And how about including microfinance in the
billion-dollar rescue packages for banks?
Microfinance and its supporters should rally
government to secure our funding for the coming
years. People on low incomes need loans more than
ever to face tough times ahead. And who knows the
financial needs of poor people better than MFIs?
Juan Forero
Programme Executive, ECLOF International
A city client
in Ecuador. Many
micro-businesses
rely on money
sent home from
relatives working
overseas
See also
• The Economist “Sub-par but not
subprime”, 21 March 2009 -http://
www.economist.com/displaystory.
cfm?story_id=1334221
• “Impact for Social Development”
papers published in 2009, for the
UN. Produced by the Commission
for Social Development
Dairy farmers
in India are
benefiting from
micro loans

Patrick Awuku
Dogbe
Head of Microfinance
Programming
“Hear the voices of the voiceless
and see them smile because
you have transformed their
lives through microfinance. I am
happy to join the ECLOF family
in making this vision a reality.”
Patrick is a chartered banker and
joins us from Ghana to head up
microfinance operations across
the world. He reports directly to
the Executive Director.
He was Head of Operations at
Opportunity International Savings
Loans Ltd. – Ghana, part of a
global microfinance network.
He has worked with Stanbic
Bank, the Trust Band Ltd and Bank
for Housing and Construction.
He served on the board of a
Rural Bank for 10 years and of three
microfinance institutions in Ghana
for 5 years. His credentials include:
• BA in Accounting and Economics
• MBA in Finance
• Diploma in Business
Development Services
• ACI- Dealing Certificate
• Chartered Institute of Bankers
and Chartered Institute of
Administration and Management
Consultants - Ghana.
Beatrice Chibawe-
Mumpangwe
Microfinance Project
Coordinator
“I feel humbled to a part of
the ECLOF family but also
grateful for the chance to serve
humanity globally.”
Zambian national Beatrice will link
partners with National ECLOFs, to
ensure they all get what they need
from the relationship. She reports
directly to the Executive Director.
Beatrice has been a marketer
and administrator for over 10
years. She has worked for BP
Zambia and CETZAM Financial
Services Ltd (a member of
Opportunity International).
Beatrice has
• a diploma in marketing with
the UK’s Chartered Institute of
Marketing (CIM)
• a diploma in public
administration with the
University of Zambia,
• a certificate in microfinance
• certificates for customer care,
safety, ISO and quality.
As well as the UK CIM, she
belongs to the Zambia Institute
of Marketing. She is studying
for an MBA in human resources
management.
Tanzania
chairman
Aminiel N Mungure
“I am happy and grateful
to be part of ECLOF. I often
like to compare MFIs’ work
to the story of Jesus feeding
multitudes with five pieces of
bread and two fish.”
Amaniel replaces Israel Ole
Karyongi. Amaniel is Chief
Financial Officer at the Arusha
Lutheran Medical Center.
Previously he served for
25 years at the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Tanzania.
He rose up the ranks to
Secretary General.
Aminiel has an MBA in
Finance from United States
International at the University
of Nairobi, and an accounting
BA from Dar es Salaam.
Amaniel wants to:
• Develop manuals to guide in
management, growth and
governance.
• Build a motivated and
committed team to reach
optimum productivity.
• Grow the operations zone to
reach more poor people.
• Maintain balance between
serving marginalised rural
and urban groups.
Two new faces in Geneva
A warm welcome to new two staff members at the ECLOF secretariat who
will fill newly-created roles to help National ECLOFs run smoothly and work
well with external partners
PEOPLE MOVES
Staff at Kenya ECLOF have contributed 900-days’
worth of food to the relief effort to feed millions
of starving Kenyans. NEC staff were so horrified by
TV footage of starving Kenyans that they clubbed
together to buy staple foods.
“We watched in shock how people were cooking
mangoes, pawpaws and wild fruits as their daily
meals. Not forgetting others who are just boiling
water as a meal,” says the NEC’s Executive Director
Rose Wanjohi.
“Those pictures of starving brothers and sisters
followed us at home and at work.”
Some 90 Kenya ECLOF employees donated
money for maize flour, green grams, rice, cooking
oil, salt and porridge flour. The food packages were
enough to feed 300 adults for 3 days.
Internal Auditor Alphonse Opinya and Operations
Manager Judy Mmosi pulled together the efforts to
bring the food to the local Red Cross for distribution.
Nearly 6 million Kenyans are in danger of
famine, according to the United Nations’ World
Food Programme. A massive drought last year and
post-election violence brought on the famine. Most
of the 600,000 people displaced by the riots are
farmers. Many are still too afraid to go home to their
lands.
ECLOF’s Nairobi head quarters is continuing to
co-ordinate food donations from office and field
staff. Rose says many staff have collected more food
on top of the official ECLOF donations.
“We may not have the muscle to buy tons of
food to take them directly to people,” says Rose.
“But we belive in giving back to the people we serve
through our work.”
Kenyan staff collect food for
the hungry
Staff rally round to help the millions living on fruit, berries and water
“Pictures of
starving brothers
and sisters
followed us at
home and work”
ECLOF NEWS

A former electronics technician has built up a thriving
transport business in Antipolo City after escaping the
clutches of loan sharks.
Ireneo Delfino was working for his father when he decided
to set up his jeepney business. But repaying the loan
sharks was crippling Delfino and Partners.
With ECLOF Philippines’ support Ireneo has since bought 6
more passenger jeepneys, 15 tricycles and a sari-sari store,
which his wife Teresa runs.
ECLOF Philippines staff have been impressed with Ireneo’s
hard work and talent for diversifying over the past six years.
“He knows how to handle his business well,” says Project
Officer Jun Penilla. “If there’s an opportunity to open
another business he will grab it. He’s a risk taker but it
serves him well.”
The business is now paying off its fourth loan with ECLOF,
this time for PhP 80,000 (US $1,600). This 12-month
loan is helping Ireneo repair his vehicles and invest in his
sari-sari store. The extra income should help secure the
futures of Ireneo’s four children, aged eight to 14.
Ireneo has referred other drivers to ECLOF to save them
from loan sharks. ECLOF Philippines has 20 clients who are
jeepney drivers.
Jeepney business
escapes loan sharks
A Filipino jeepney driver has branched out into passenger tricycles
and a shop, thanks to four loans from ECLOF
Jeepneys are colourful taxis unique to the Philippines. The original jeepneys were customised US army jeeps left
behind after the Second World War. Today Filipino engineers custom-build jeepneys from spare parts. A new jeepney
is expensive – ranging from US $5,000 to US $8,000. (pictured: Ireneo Delfino and one of his drivers)
ECLOF International
150 route de Ferney, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6312 Fax: +41 22 710 2005 Email: office@eclof.org

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