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Ghana Update: From the Fellows!

Submitted by alexberg on Wed, 07/14/2010 - 4:05pm
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Each fellow has been working intently at his/her respective projects since our last update. Coming from many different backgrounds (collectively, we are studying accounting, entrepreneurship, international business, political science, economics, and international studies), we each have settled into specialized projects that will improve Lumana’s operations from many angles.

So far, Blake Strickland has been in charge of streamlining Mifos (a powerful tool that’s specifically designed for MFOs) so that the data we collect will be able to be put in a centralized database, which will allow for faster data input and quicker statistical calculations. In addition to Mifos, Blake has also been helping direct and oversee the business courses that Lumana offers to all incoming clients.

Mieka Briejer has been focusing mainly on creating updated versions of the class content and coordinating with Victor about covering all of the new content. The updated business classes span for two weeks instead of three. Not only does the new class schedule allow our clients to return to their business an entire week quicker, it also maintains all of the key concepts from the previous class schedule.

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David Almeida has been working on a new business readiness survey. The new version of the survey is given to every new loan applicant. It allows us to learn about the well-being of our clients and to gauge their ability to utilize a loan. David has also been interviewing farmers in the Volta region. One thing that David mentioned is that although much of the soil here is relatively sandy, farmers are able to yield a very high number of tomatoes (along with other vegetables).

Xiaohan Zhang been devising an improved process of data collection to allow for better insight about the effects of Lumana’s loans on our clients. So far, he has been collecting PPI scores and detailed business information from current clients, new clients (those who are in the business training classes but have not received loans), and non-clients (those who have been approved, but not yet worked into our classes).

In addition to our individual projects, we have all been getting our hands dirty job shadowing several clients to gain an in depth view of how our clients run their businesses. Oh, and we were serious about the “getting our hands dirty” part…

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While each of us has been working hard at our individual projects, we could not have done any of it without the help of our Ghanaian friends Victor and Kizito. They have been with us throughout the entire process by helping translate and providing insight about improvements to be made.

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Featured Client Stephen Adzika

Submitted by Chad Skeers on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 12:00am

Stephen is a master Kente weaver and one of the few Atorkor experts of the trade. He is part of the Good Future Cooperative together with 3 other borrowers, who at this time still work under Stephen’s supervision for quality control and guidance.

Kente is the art of intertwining colored cotton threads to create beautiful woven patterns. The trade has suffered greatly from cheap substitutes. Thousands of yards of printed Kente cloths are commercialized in Accra which cannibalizes the sales of original pieces. Real Kente cloth is still considered elegant, however, and is sought after as ceremonial attire.

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Our experience with Stephen made us realize the need for additional credit offerings. Capital needs change continually for Kente weavers. Since most work is done on contract, weavers have unpredictable revenue streams, which make it difficult to fit them on a regular 6-month loan cycle. Materials are bought in Accra and the lack of on-hand materials forces the weavers to absorb the cost of traveling to the city to buy them as needed, thus increasing costs without increasing revenues sometimes to break-even point. We believe this challenge will be overcome if we are able to offer our weavers a fixed amount line of credit.

Stephen has promised that he will do his best to train his 10-year old son, Godwin, to continue this beautiful work. He says, “I only make small money so I think he will be better off learning computer skills, but I will still try to train him”. We are grateful for the opportunity to help keep this craft alive.