In St. Marc, Haiti, Rayjon supports a successful microcredit program with a 100% repayment rate! In partnership with a local grassroots Women’s Federation, we seek to expand this program, amplifying the impact.
Building on a Strong Foundation
Many loan recipients have recently completed literacy and numeracy training, and so are applying their new skills for the first time in the marketplace. We need to:
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Increase the amount of loans available annually
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Provide an additional tier of loans for experienced borrowers
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Provide additional training in small business development, finances, and entrepreneurship
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Explore methods of helping participants move their products up the value chain
Making the Leap
When beneficiaries are able to invest in small business opportunities, they take a giant step toward self-sufficiency. When individuals earn sufficient income to provide for their families, the whole community benefits.
We now want to work with them to move from strictly microbusiness to a larger-scale community cooperative, to meet communal goals.
In 2018 the Women’s Federation voiced an ambitious collective goal: to develop a larger-scale business initiative that would allow participants to make the leap from bottom-level sales to processing and producing a marketable product.
Our plan:
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Proceed with expansion of the microcredit program, doubling loan access
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Support the next phase of research: experienced program staff will work with the Women’s Federation to investigate the most feasible communal business development initiative for the area, participant group, and market conditions
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Support the development of a business plan with clear objectives and implementation plan
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Provide additional training and resources to support the project launch and first year of operation.