Supporting small businesses with revolving microloans

Introduction

Our revolving microloans programme will support local businesses and entrepreneurship.

We will partner with local organisations and socially driven lenders to provide no-interest, revolving loans.

Small business owners in these groups also receive training in financial literacy and business management.

Why is this programme necessary?

Small businesses are vital economic engines in local communities, but many struggle to access traditional financing. High interest rates, complex application processes, and collateral requirements create barriers for entrepreneurs who need modest capital to start or grow their businesses.

By providing no-interest microloans through trusted community partners, we can help bridge this financing gap. The revolving structure means that as loans are repaid, those funds become available to support other entrepreneurs - creating a sustainable cycle of local economic empowerment.

When combined with financial literacy and business training, these microloans give entrepreneurs the resources and knowledge they need to build sustainable enterprises that create jobs and strengthen their communities.

Objectives

How loans will be structured

Below are the terms for the loans we'll be providing:

The metrics we'll track

Group level metrics

For each lending group, we'll track the following metrics:

Individual level metrics

On an individual level, we'll aim to track the following:

Soft metrics

We will also track qualitative indicators such as changes in financial literacy, business confidence, and community economic resilience. Additionally, we will document both successes and challenges of loan recipients and their businesses. These softer metrics help us understand the broader social impact of the programme beyond the numbers.

Partnership Model

Kwanda's Role

Partner Organization Responsibilities

Knowledge Capture Framework

To continuously improve our microloan programme and build institutional knowledge, we implement a structured approach to capturing insights and learnings:

Sample profile

Here's a sample profile of a loan recipient:

Isatu's story

Isatu is 40 years old and from Sierra Leone. She runs a business selling rice, charcoal, oil, vita and other items. Fifteen years ago, she opended her shop. She sells Monday through Saturday and uses a car to transport supplies to her business site. This financing will be used to buy more rice, charcoal, oil, vita and other items to sell to repay her loan installment and increase her income.

Markers of success

For this programme to be successful, we'll aim to achieve the following:

• Minimum 90% loan repayment rate
• Demonstrable business growth for > 70% of recipients
• Demonstrable job creation
• Sustainable loan fund recycling

Outro

Thank you for reading this guide. If you have any questions, please refer to our FAQ page.