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Footsteps 26

CREDIT SCHEMES

This issue began as one on income generating – ideas for small businesses. However as articles began to come in, it became clear that the focus instead should be on credit schemes for the poor – essential before any income generating business can begin. The articles and case studies are all shared from experience in different parts of the world, and illustrate that the poorest in society can indeed be trustworthy of credit and a most worthwhile investment. There are plenty of practical tips and ideas on how to ensure mistakes are not made. We also include tips on good management and a simple accounting system to keep accurate records – essential once sufficient resources are obtained for income generating projects to begin.

Please find below articles from Footsteps issue 26 in html.

To download a pdf version of Footsteps issue 26 click here (914K).

Asking Tough Questions An interview with Rajan Samuel and Mathew Titus. How does access to credit help the poor in their overall development? Rajan Samuel; I think it is in restoring dignity and hope. Once the poor undertake an activity with a loan, we see a change in t... More >>

Bible study Income generation and co-operatives. Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13. The apostle Paul was deeply troubled by a report that some members of the church at Thessalonica were idle without doing any work, but were active in a wrong way, for example, by in... More >>

Case study from the Gambia Action Aid operate a very successful loan fund in the Gambia. The fund is not revolving, in that it has been given by supporters for relief work. So this credit scheme instead seeks to use this money imaginatively to build up communities. The objec... More >>

Editorial This issue began as one on income generating – ideas for small businesses. However as articles began to come in, it became clear that the focus instead should be on credit schemes for the poor – essential before any income generating business can b... More >>

HEED - Credit and Loan scheme by Elgin Saha. Can development goals be achieved without any credit system to help the poor begin income-generating activities? For many years this has been a difficult question for us in HEED, Bangladesh. We have discussed and deliberated. While th... More >>

Home-made incubator In Benin recently, I came across this good idea for making an incubator for hatching chickens’, ducks’ or other poultry eggs. The incubator is based around an ordinary kerosene hurricane lamp. However, the reservoir on an ordinary lamp is too small ... More >>

Letters Working with drug abuse. Your issue on drugs (No 23) arrived here at just the right time, as I was preparing teaching on the effects of drug-taking for my brothers living on the island of Fotoba. This is an island about 15km from the capital of Guin... More >>

Management of small businesses by Gideon Yong Njini. Management is the ability to organise and control teamwork, to direct and inspire, to create contacts and to handle problems which may arise. Management channels resources to achieve pre selected objectives. Management skills ... More >>

Resources Savings and Credit. This series of five books on issues to do with savings and credit schemes has been prepared by IRED – Development Innovations and Networks in Sri Lanka. They are aimed both at those responsible for designing savings and credit sc... More >>

Self-help finance for the poor by Steve Finamore. Credit schemes are becoming increasingly important. They are a very useful tool for encouraging development, but a number of things can go wrong. Even when they run smoothly, they are not the answer to every problem faced by the p... More >>

Simple and effective Accounts by Andrew Maclay. I have worked as an accountant and auditor in many commercial and charitable organisations, ranging from multinational companies in London to tiny churches in Africa. I have seen many different systems for keeping accounts, both i... More >>

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