The concept of microfinance is simple yet empowering; through giving small loans (some as little as 50 USD (US Dollars)) to members of the developing world, they can use their existing skills to create viable business and work their way out of poverty. As stated by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the pioneer of microfinance programs in the developing world, “All people are entrepreneurs, but many don't have the opportunity to find that out.” Through creating a sustainable loan program, we can give them that opportunity.
In August of 2008 the Atorkor Development Foundation (ADF) initiated a micro-finance program to provide small loans and business management training to the people of Atorkor along with the help of Sammie Rayner, a graduate of the University of Washington business school who traveled to Ghana. After just a few months, staff of ADF had been trained to run the program, thirty locals had gone through business training, formed cooperative groups and taken out loans averaging $120 USD. However, there were clearly many villagers who would have benefited from an opportunity to grow and sustain their family businesses. With over a 96% repayment rate in the first six months, we realized that together we had a created a formula for helping villagers in Atorkor.
Following that success, Sammie Rayner began recruiting a team in the US to help grow the fund and in July of 2009, Lumana Credit was incorporated; a non-profit corporation with the mission of building stronger rural communities through education and entrepreneurship. To date, eight members of the Lumana team have returned to Ghana and worked with ADF to increase the program to over 150 beneficiaries. Before moving toward expansion, however, ADF assisted Lumana with the creation of a Needs Assessment Survey in order to better understand the business, health and educational needs of community members. Together we have surveyed hundreds of locals with a goal of creating the first ever phone book of Atorkor.
In order to continue to provide loans and education to the people of Atorkor and surrounding villages, Lumana and ADF are teaming up to raise donations and increase our current fund. In addition to direct loan beneficiaries, our program creates employment for the two locals who manage our daily operations as well as over eight local teachers and community leaders who teach our entrepreneurship training course and are paid through the interest earned on loans from the fund. With additional funding, we could extend our services not only to other members of Atorkor but also those of the surrounding community. To learn more about our approach to microfinance as well as the people and business we support, please visit www.lumana.org
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“My experience [has] given me an unshakable faith in the creativity of human beings. It leads me to believe that humans are not born to suffer the misery of hunger and poverty. They suffer now as they did in the past because we turn our heads away from this issue.”
-Dr. Muhammad Yunus
