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Here's a way to borrow money to start that small business,
18 November 2006
Do you have some friends who want to join you in setting up a
fishing business? Or perhaps there is a block of land that could
be farmed to grow peanuts, or coffee, or rice or vegetables for
the market?
Maybe you are a mother who just needs some money to be able to
buy produce to re-sell it at a profit at the market?
There is an exciting program that can help. It is called "microfinance"
and involves lending small amounts of money to individuals or
community groups so they can establish a small business. Each
member of the group guarantees to help repay the loan.
My good friend Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh started this idea
going with the Grameen Bank and it is now popular right around
the world. It has been so successful that Mr Yunus and his bank
were this year jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
The Institute of Micro Finance Timor-Leste (IMFTL) started operating
in 2002 and was established to address the financial needs of
the rural poor, particularly women. The institute supports community-based
opportunities for income generation and is particularly aimed
at generating sustainable employment.
Among the products that it makes available are group loans for
poor women; market vendor loans; agricultural loans for individuals
and groups (coffee and rice); small business loans and payroll
loans.
I am so convinced that microfinance can help people work their
way out of extreme poverty that I have actually used some of my
own money in Dili to encourage our poor to start businesses. There
are few things more rewarding than seeing these very poor people
succeed.
IMFTL has its head office in Dili with full branches in Gleno,
Maliana and Aileu. New offices are planned for Baucau and Oecussi
in the near future. The institute hopes that in the near future
there will be full branches in all 13 districts. At the present
time more than 3600 borrowers have loans from IMFTL with a total
value of nearly $1.5 million.
The microfinance program will concentrate on three key product
groups: group loans to poor women; agricultural loans to farmers;
and small business loans.
During the next three years IMFTL has plans to make these lending
services, as well as new savings services, available throughout
Timor-Leste. Every citizen should have the opportunity to utilize
the lending and savings services they deserve.
Within two years IMFTL aims to employ 120 new workers (mostly
young graduates) to service a planned 20,000 borrowers and 70,000
depositors.
Microfinance will not solve all of our problems but it might
be the answer to your prayers and help you earn enough money to
send your children to school. I urge you to consider it carefully.
IMFTL can be contacted on phone (+670) 3339186, 3339187 3339188
or visit one of the branches.
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