Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a population of 39 million people with an average per capita income of $1,000 per year. Five Talents has been working with the Bishop of Tanzania Donald Mtetemela to help establish the NGO, 'The Mama Bahati Foundation' based in Iringa, Tanzania. Iringa is a town in central Tanzania with a population of approximately 115,000 people, many of whom rely on small enterprises to provide an income for themselves and their families.
Project Description
The Mama Bahati Foundation (MBF) was registered as an NGO in February 2006, providing microfinance services to women in and around Iringa. The project was the 'brain-child' of the retired Archbishop of Tanzania and Five Talents was asked to work alongside his team to help establish the program. Unlike Five Talents' other projects, the clients of MBF are solely women. Women have historically proved to be more successful in repaying loans and prioritizing the needs of the family. The program encourages women to start small enterprises as a means of gaining an income, independence and dignity both in the home and within the community.
As of December 2009, MBF has offered training and loans to approximately 1,100 women, and this number is increasing week by week as more people hear about its work. MBF is currently working on a new system to capture the impact of this programme. In the meantime, the feedback continues to be very positive. Many clients are keen to grow and diversify their business and some have chosen to repay their loans early.
Our project is named after this lady, Mama Bahati. She runs a small business selling bananas and used to be tied down by a system of credit from a market seller that left her with only small profits for herself. It took a loan of just $8 to break this cycle and allow her to buy enough stock to make a profit large enough to pay back the loan and continue growing over time. It was her story that first inspired the Archbishop of Tanzania to look for a microfinance partner, and we have named the operation after her.
Targets
Five Talents has played an important role in helping to establish the Mama Bahati Foundation, and we will continue to advise and contribute funding toward the loan portfolio during the next five years. Our aim is to enable the MBF to be an independent, sustainable institution and achieve its goal of having 2,800 clients with a loan pool of $400,000 by the end of 2012.
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