Of 250 panties, 975 bras and 450 night dresses



Application



There is no bigger challenge in Microfinance than appraising loan applications. Most of the information declared by the potential borrowers is lies, not worth the paper it’s written on. Earlier this month I got an apt example of this. A lady selling second hand clothes in downtown Nairobi presented this application for approval.

The sheer numbers of items she claims to have in her inventory struck me as odd, even weird. How can a shop of 6ft by 6ft hold (36sq. ft) stock almost 1000 bras amongst other merchandise? A large store like Nakumatt does not even stock 500 panties in their 3000 sq. feet clothing stores!

As is usual, we sent someone to verify the customers stocks. The numbers were even more obnoxious.

It then occurred to me that the customer had collected stocks from her fellow traders for the appraisal show!

And there goes the largest challenge facing microfinaciers. How can one obtain the correct stock values?

Instead of declaring the correct information so they can be assisted, microfinance customers make extravagant attempts to overstate their borrowing capacity. In the end, they borrow more than their capacity, misuse the money and end up in ever bigger debt & poverty trap

Why I took so long to start blogging?

I have read blogs regularly for many years. Some blogs are informative (like bankelele.blogspot.com, moseskemibaro.com), challenging and the best of them are humorous  providing a rare good laugh in the office (like iddsalim.com). Some are even irritating in a nice way (like frankierants.com) and I find myself getting pissed off but going back anyway!

Its because of being an avid reader of blogs that it has taken too long to start blogging. And why so? Simply, I have continuously asked myself, will I have content to blog about often? Will I meet the discipline of regularity? Will I run dry of material to blog about?

No blogging topic to focus?

Of all the blogs I have read, the most interesting are those that stick to a single subject and therefore the blogger are sort of experts in the particular area. As for I find myself scattered in so many fields that my focus is anything but concentrated.

Micro finance moments!

Its not till recently that I discovered a passion in micro finance. I have been involved in providing financial solutions to the poorest and upcoming of society for the last 18 months. Nothing can be more gratifying that seeing someone who could otherwise not access financing, overcome that challenge and go ahead to establish a business that is successful, regardless of the scale.

Contrary to popular belief, there is still a large group of Kenyans who have no access to credit services. Our challenge is to help these Kenyans to cross the gap.

This blog will be a journal of my experiences in the field of micro credit. Helping the poor access credit services and seeing them develop their businesses to meet their daily needs, feed and educate their children and inspire the rest of their societies