Jamii Bora (Good families) is a Kenyan microcredit network founded by Ingrid Munro
They started with 50 beggars in 1999 in Nairobi, their social business now banks for over
130,000 members. The average loan in $95; to date they have loaned $21 million ;the $95 is about break even (larger loans make profits; smaller ones make a loss); their aim is to ultimately make
$35 breakeven ; every member uses a swipecard to repay loans making Jamaii Bora a benchmark for hi-tech simplicity
The language used is that JB offers a ladder out of poverty but every
member is responsible for climbing the ladder. The following membership services are offered:
Microcredit
Health and life insurance ($12 a year ; comes to 30 cents a
week) became necessary since family ill health was identified as a major risk to achieving repayments in microcredit’s
95%+ level
Business School
Housing
Special
programme for street beggars and plantation workers
Programme
for ending drunkenness among male members of family
Jamii Bora - Kenya , arguably the most exciting model of an MFI in africa - unitus interview with founder ingrid munro ; unitus partnership news with JB and wholeplanetfoundation connecting microcredit and fair trade kenya cofffee; more on JB at the web resource I co-edit yunusafrica
Quotes from Munro: Ms. Munro: To get out of the vicious cycle of poverty, people do need more than just
access to finance. They also need insurance, education, healthcare, housing—all the things that can help them move up and out of this vicious cycle instead of spiraling downward. Microfinance needs to be combined with
other programs to help people get out of poverty. It must also be stressed that microfinance should be about creating jobs.
I think donors can play a very negative role here when they push microfinance institutions too
hard to be profitable and demonstrate sustainability—interpreted entirely as financial sustainability. This measure of success often promotes dropping the very poor to appear more successful since small loans are always
going to cost more to manage and administer.
This is a rough note of a one-hour meeting Peter Burgess and I had with Thompson Ayodele yesterday in DC while he was over here at a meeeting attended by 300 people to launch
the book lessons from the poor. He was one of 9 contributing authors on cases. He was the only resident African to contribute to this book though a
case on Kenya supermarket Nakumatt is included. I feel we should raise 3 cheers to Thompson for contributing to a book that
William Easterly commends: Lessons from the Poor shows that the mightiest soldiers in the war on poverty are the poor themselves, This
fascinating book documents the remarkable creativity and entrepreneurship of the poor, ranging from the family grocer
in Kenya that became a supermarket giant to the makers of a traditional dyed cloth in the informal sector in Nigeria.
Africa is not somewhere I have much personal experience hence I am sure Peter and Thompson can edit any nuances
I have missed from live reporting, and NY's Collaboration Cafe additional team leaders particularly Spencer and Rachel may like to add questions to
1 I like the model of http://ippanigeria.org/ (tell me if you know of parallels). Its a local thinktank in Lagos that also hosts meetings vital to poverty action
networks. It has 4 full time staff members, but would like to scale up to 10 by hiring new people who would need about
$500 per month's salary. It also takes on interns that it does not pay but finds action learning projects for.
2 Thompson's chapter in lessons for the poor is on "The Nigerian Clothing Design Industry". This
is the opening para of his chapter in Lessons from the Poor." The adire or clothing design industry, employs thousands
of people in Abeohuta in Southwestern Nigeria, most of them women with little or no education who have used their entrepreneurial
drive to make a living and create wealth where previously there was only misery. These entrepreneurs have received no government
aid. Through action or omission, the government has placed many obstacles in their way. Yet they have been able to combat
poverty much more efficiently than foreign aid and official poverty-reduction programs. By creating thousands of small busineses
and seizing opportunities under spontaneous institutional arrangements that offers a good measure of security and therefore
a predictable environment, they have genearted employment, and many have assumed responsibility for their own health care
and other basic services.(Adire design uses indigo dye and a local cloth-making) "
3 Many so-called
Microfinance programs in Nigeria haven't sustained progress for reasons such as the government running them or foci
in cities not the poor women in rural areas. The adire traders are one of several association groups who could multiply their
entrepreneurial energies if real microcredit could be developed. It would be jolly useful if we can better understand
whether there are any benchmarks or catalysts for true microcredit in Nigeria.
4 As far as I can see
the only MFI associated with Grameen is about 250 miles east of Abehuta at Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Lift Above Poverty
Organisation (LAPO) was initiated by Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe -approximatekly 100,000 members http://www.lapo-ng.org/aboutus.php Although BRAC has announced intent to come to Nigeria http://blog4brac.blogspot.com/search?q=nigeria it is not evident much exists yet. Rachel can inform us if she wishes on ASA' s status to date. Apparently Dr Yunus
did speak in Lagos in August this year http://allafrica.com/stories/200808200697.html it is unclear to me who the various subnetworks connecting this may have been.
5 Since I have no personal
knowledge of Nigeria I had better pass the baton over to anyone who may wish to comment or ask questions. You all can decide
whether there is more info to share.
best chris macrae usa 301 881 1655 (washington dc region)
I will post
at blog http://yunusafrica.com/ where I paste postcards on what I hear or search about Micro Africa Rising. Thomson has kindly taken 100 http://yunus10000.com/ dvds back to Lagos; we'd love to hear any stories of where dvds of good news videos are more user friendly
to connect round than youtube.
This is week 1 of Yunus10000 dvd - a collaboration attempt to connect 10000 youth and community builders through 10000 dvds and video dialogue to alumni networks of Dr
Yunus and planetwide application of social business model and microsummits
200 dvds so far sent to africa- 100 Lagos Nigeria ; others have been shared between the parcel sent to Fantsuam Foundation, to David Mutua. hope these will get circulated to the book readers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. gave a
book and a few DVDs to Caroline Ifeka in London, to take back to the REIWA project.
We hope our YunusWorld log of where the dvds are being shipped will soon show many vibrant African communities - currently for inquiries best
to contact me chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk (usa 301 881 1655) or Peter at http://tr-ac-net.org
Travel to visit the good people of Jamii Bora in KENYA with Tom Bevan and Milla Sunde of The Green Children, and
see how small loans to poor but budding entrepreneurs can make a BIG difference!
CIDA City Campus is the first and only virtually free higher education
institution in Southern Africa. Its focus is to provide previously disadvantaged youth with the opportunity to earn a fully
accredited and relevant 3-year Bachelor in Business Administration degree, as well as vocational and life skills training,
and self-management and entrepreneurial skills development.
WAITING LIST we admire the following but have not yet found where to make the most mutually beneficial yunus
network connections- we welcome your reports too at info@worldcitizen.tv Nigeria- Fantsuam
We hope our 
