|  |
The Women's International Day - 8th March 2010
The Women's International Day
 Today, Kenyan institutions, personalities and the public join the rest of the world in observing International Women's Day. The situation at Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT), the country's only microfinance institution that promotes the well-being of families exclusively through women is, however, different. KWFT Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jennifer Riria says, to her organization, "every day of the year is Women's Day, not just the 8th March. For us, Women's Day every day of our lifetime and for generations to come."
KWFT, the CEO states, exists to enable women access financial and non-financial services so as to create assets for themselves and their families.
"Women," Dr. Riria points out, "are core to the economy and families. They produce wealth but they do not access even 10 per cent of what they create and even the 1 per cent they access, they have no control over. KWFT helps build their capacities for them to have control and a voice over what they produce."
During the year ended December 2009, KWFT disbursed Sh.13.5 billion to about 400,000 women, most of whom took loans of Sh.40,000 on average. As at that period, KWFT had an outstanding portfolio of Sh.10.7b.
The microfinance institution has an asset base of Sh.15b.
This year, the institution expects to have disbursed Sh.20b and provide capacity for the women it serves to mobilise Sh.10b.
KWFT, Dr, Riria announces, is about to receive a licence that will allow it to take deposits from women, becoming the first organization in Africa to do so. This will be done under KWFT-DTM which will be regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya as stipulated in the Microfinance Act. KWFT, the holding company, will focus on capacity building, giving women a voice and connecting them to markets.
"We aim to create a nationwide economic movement that impacts on women's lives and wealth creation," the KWFT CEO explains. "Women should work in concert on issues affecting their lives. The two institutions - KWFT and KWFT-DTM will be working in concert to deliver services to women in a complementary manner."
The microfinance institution provides business loans ranging from Sh.10,000 to Sh.5 million; start-up loans; water harvesting solutions; micro-health insurance through the Afya card courtesy of the partnership with NHIF and CIC; emergency loans and; food security solutions in partnership with Amiran Kenya which promotes greenhouse farming.
Additionally, in a pilot project, KWFT is researching in Nyanza to promote aquaculture or fish farming. This is meant to save women the indignity and associated risk (especially the possibility of contracting HIV/Aids) of having to provide sexual favours in exchange for fish from fishermen.
Dr, Riria reveals that KWFT-DTM will start with 20 branches in 2010 alone, in town such as Kakamega, Kericho, Nyeri ,Mombasa, Nanyuki, Meru, Kericho, Embu, Nairobi etc. "We want to take branches to where the women are," she says.
In partnership with KPLC, KWFT provides Stima loan through which women light up their homes and access clean energy which is healthier compared to the kerosene many rural homes use. The microfinance institution also provides solar solutions.
Other products in the pipeline include Pamba Nyumba, an initiative to enable women live in better houses, and Mabati Loan for roofing solutions.
"All these products revolve around the welfare of the family and are developed with input from our clients," sayd Dr. Riria.
KWFT intends to tap various modern technologies to make women's lives easier through expeditious, efficient delivery of services. One such is M-PESA, which women can use to repay loans or deposit funds and the bank, to transfer loans to the women, thereby eliminating the need for women to carry money around and in the process risk losing the cash.
|
