Client: Women’s Microfinance Initiative USA

Description: WMI is running a non-profit microfinance company that makes small loans to impoverished women in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The women use the money to build and run small businesses along the agricultural value chain. WMI trains the women on financial literacy and basic business management skills. Women start out by forming savings and loan groups of 20 women each. WMI invests a seed capital over a period of 1 year. Each year has four borrowing cycles of 4 months each. After 1 year, the women ‘graduate to borrowing from rural financial institutions through a banking linkage program. 

Ichuli is the banking linkages and digital financial services partner for WMI’s supported non-profits in Eastern Africa. Since 2016, Ichuli has trained over 10,000 women in financial literacy and business management and helped to connect them to rural financial institutions. Ichuli also developed a digital financial services platform that automated their savings and loans management systems and provided for easy tracking, follow-up and accounting of savings and borrowing across 10,000 clients.