Akua is a first time client with WPF partner ID Ghana and is borrowing 700 Ghana Cedis (about $128 US/£100) to finance her business selling roasted plantains. This loan has allowed her to diversify her business by selling higher profit margin items like schoolbooks that students buy from her. Her loan is repaid over 6 months. She is almost finished repaying and is already seeking further finance to add sales of housewares such as plates at her market stand. She discovered ID Ghana’s services through recommendations made by others in the compound where she lives. Three years ago, she borrowed from another microfinance institution (MFI) but found it to be too expensive with weekly repayments whereas ID Ghana has bi-weekly repayments and is one of the most affordable MFIs in the market.
Microfinance Partner: Initiative Development Ghana (ID Ghana)
ID Ghana was set up in 1998 by the French NGO Initiative Développement, which transferred the technical and financial responsibility to Entrepreneurs du Monde when it was formed in West Africa in 2006. ID Ghana has been sustainable and above breakeven since 2011 and was the first MFI to register under a newly created category by the Central Bank called FNGO (Financial NGO) which requires higher oversight by the Central Bank while also safeguarding their NGO registration reflecting their social mission. ID Ghana offers very poor entrepreneurs in Greater Accra the opportunity to join a business loan group providing microloans for enterprise, the ability to save income and regular trainings on a wide variety of business and financial literacy topics. The program also works with all clients to ensure they are enrolled in the national health plan and understand how it works- ID Ghana pays 50% of the enrollment cost for the first year. To maximize the chances that ID Ghana’s clients succeed the organization has a team of social workers on staff to help their members cope with unexpected life challenges that may undermine the success of the household being supported by an ID Ghana microloan. ID Ghana groups meet monthly in the communities where the clients live.