Micro Loans

Micro Loans are becoming one of the most important means of distributing AID to millions of poverty stricken people in Africa. People are selected according to their need and character. Starting with very small amounts each person is given a small loan with no interest to enable them to purchase a starter kit. It may be a shoe shine kit, a purchase of some fruit or some commodity that they are able to sell or a service for which they can provide to their community. It may also be money for purchasing wood from which they can turn into charcoal, a laundry or cleaning business, or an embroidery business. The borrower can repay the loan according to their ability and when the loan is paid in full they are then able to apply for a bigger loan to expand their business. After each loan is paid off and the borrower has gained trust, they may borrow substantially more for bigger projects and in some cases they now have excess money that they loan to others.

One such self help group of women in Bahidar of eleven women borrowed money from the New Hope Devxchange Program pooled their resources now have a bank balance of $7, 930. One of these beneficiary women who had four children and no husband was living in a grass hut and begging for food and cloths for her children. She was very sick and there seemed no hope for her. She was given a small loan and from that was able to improve her home and add four rooms from which she was able to make some income and repay the original loan of $1,000 Brr, the Ethiopian dollar. With an income she is now healthy, able to feed her family and she is now earning enough to apply for another loan to purchase some beer making equipment from which she can begin another business and grow.
Another 72 year old man who had worked some 40 years or more in a textile factory found retirement on his poor pension was not enough to support his family and with a Micro loan from Devxchange's New Hope program was able to purchase a foot pedal powered sewing

machine. With expert skills he was able to continue his life as a tailor, paid off his loan with in two years and now has money which he has started to loan to others.

More than a thousand individuals have now received loans through this program.

For more information or to find out how to help go to https://devxchange.org/new-hope