Microfinance Will Help Sustain Rwandan Knitting Program
U.S. Department of State - March 1 2006
Microfinance is a way for individuals and small groups to get small loans -- from $50 to $1,000, normally -- from banks or other lending institutions. In the developing world, nearly 99 percent of such loans are repaid.
Cari Clement hopes such small loans will help her knitting program in Rwanda become sustainable.
Speaking of the program, she says: "Right now there are 90 machines in country, but there are over 500 women who know how to use them, so they all trade off because everybody wants to learn." (See related article.)
The knitting machines are given to organizations, not to individuals, she explains. "And when the [Rwanda Knits] two-year grant 'sunsets,'" she says, "they will become the property of the association, made up of 16 groups in Rwanda, furnishing them with collateral.
"The spin-off is that now they're going to be eligible for microfinance. So I'm working with UNIFEM [United Nations Development Fund for Women] on being able to handle distribution of yarn now that we've found a good yarn spinner in Kenya that will spin acrylic yarn for the local domestic market, which really makes the project sustainable." [more]
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