Funding and training for 25 micro-entrepreneurs
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Project details
Business
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
👩🏿🦲 25
Additional data
25
£2,000
£2,000
£0
This project will support a group of 25 entrepreneurs in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Each entrepreneur will be provided with approximately 1mSLL in funding plus training and ongoing support to help them make their businesses profitable, which will be organised and carried out by our partners Munafa Social Microfinance.
Challenge
The population in Sierra Leone is mostly rural (62%) and mostly young (42%). 70% of young people are unemployed or underemployed.
Munafa works in 8 vulnerable communities in Freetown which are among the most deprived slums. These communities face a range of challenges including precarious housing, lack of schools, lack of health services, poor sanitary and waste disposal systems, poor infrastructure and high vulnerability to natural disaster.
To make a living, many people run informal businesses like small grocery shops, workshops, peasant farming or livestock, hawking, cookery, etc. However, they often lack access to affordable funding and training to make their businesses more profitable and to improve their problem-solving and decision-making ability.
Solution
We, in partnership with Munafa, will fund a group of 25 entrepreneurs in Freetown.
Before receiving funding, the selected group of entrepreneurs will receive 6 initial training sessions delivered by Munafa. After this, they will receive individual loans based on their business needs and their capacity to repay, without the need for collateral or joint liability.
In addition to the business loans, the entrepreneurs will receive education about savings and receive help to establish a personal saving plan.
Twice a month, field officers will meet the entrepreneurs in groups. During these bi-weekly meetings, Munafa field officers will manage the loan repayments and savings collection and provide training on economic and social topics to help entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses as well as their families and communities.
Impact
Access to affordable funding and training to make their businesses profitable is a big challenge for entrepreneurs, especially those in vulnerable communities. Munafa’s holistic approach not only equips the entrepreneurs for business success, but also provides a strong foundation for long-term financial inclusion.
Munafa means ‘to prosper’ in local dialects. 89% of the entrepreneurs Munafa supports are women. Our funding will help those women to prosper, and support them in their incredible efforts to make their families and communities prosper as well.
Updates
From the field
Checking on the entrepreneurs in Moa Wharf
Posted 6 October 2021
The flooding situation has greatly improved in Moa Wharf. As a consequence, the entrepreneurs in the Tafataneh group are proceeding well with their training and their loans.
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Loan repayment has also remained high, although worsened socio-economic conditions in the wider community and growing inflation is affecting some of the entrepreneurs' businesses. Despite this, two entrepreneurs have already fully repaid their loans. They are now eligible to get a new loan of roughly £160, double the size of their original loan.
Floods are disrupting some of the businesses in Moa Wharf
Posted 17 August 2021
The entrepreneurs in Moa Wharf had their most recent training on “husband and wife relationships”. They said it was their favourite training topic so far.
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Munafa has carried out a post-disbursement visit
Posted 2 July 2021
Munafa has carried out a post-disbursement visit to the entrepreneurs who have taken out loans so far. Visits were conducted by the Branch Manager (Alice) to the Tafataneh group members. Alice carried out checks and could see the goods and inputs procured with the loan and provided business advice to the entrepreneurs.
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This is a good example of how Munafa works holistically with the entrepreneurs, supporting them far beyond achieving business success.
13 more entrepreneurs have taken out loans
Posted 24 June 2021
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15 entrepreneurs have taken out loans
Posted 15 May 2021
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Munafa will monitor the entrepreneurs’ attendance to trainings at each fortnightly meeting and they will be eligible for further loans based on their attendance. Continuous biweekly trainings allow Munafa to closely follow-up on the entrepreneurs and their businesses. They will also be rolling out further business, social, health, and environmental and gender training for the duration that the entrepreneurs are part of Munafa's program.
Training is complete and entrepreneurs are getting ready to receive loans
Posted 12 May 2021
Following on from our last update from Moa Wharf, we are pleased to share that Joseph, the Field Officer, has now individually registered every partner (entrepreneur) to create a savings account.
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They've also attended training on loan management, which will be the final step before they can get loans disbursed to them. The training highlighted how the loans will be tailored to the individual needs of each partner and their ability to repay. Some members of the group will take their first loan at the end of this week.
The group decided to change their name to Tafataneh, meaning "closeness" in Temne, the most commonly spoken language in Moa Wharf.
Operations have kicked off in Sierra Leone!
Posted 21 April 2021
We've received an update from Munafa that operations have kicked off!
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The group has undergone two diagnostic meetings with Joseph, the Field Officer in charge of Moa Wharf. The diagnostic meetings are to ensure that the group meets Munafa's criteria and to assess the group's cohesion and their understanding of Munafa services.
Joseph is now individually registering all the partners (entrepreneurs) at their place of residence so that they can open their individual savings accounts in the next 2 weeks.
Funds are in Sierra Leone
Posted 7 April 2021
Hey, villagers.
As I mentioned in the last update, we were having some difficulty deploying the funds for this project into Freetown, Sierra Leone. This inability persisted for a few weeks, but I'm glad to say the funds have made their way to Munafa, who will be re-deploying the funds as loans to entrepreneurs.
I'll post another update as soon as I have one.
Issues getting funds out to Sierra Leone
Posted 16 March 2021
Hey villagers,
We’re having some internal issues getting funds out to the Munafa in Sierra Leone, but this should be resolved this week.
Once the funds are in the right place, I’ll let you know, and we’ll get this project started.