Programs / Microfinance / Communities / Ekumfi Ebuakwa «

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Ekumfi Ebuakwa

Ekumfi Ebuakwa was one of the communities selected for the second
expansion phase of the Microfinance Program here in Ghana. Ebuakwa has

grown at a steady pace and has not had any huge problems with money

management at their Community Development Fund or with defaulters on

loans. They have successfully completed their first round of the pilot group

loan model and are on course to now develop the model further to reach

more community members.

 

Ekumfi Ebuakwa's Economic Challenge

The majority of the community members rely on agricultural work to support

themselves and their families. They mainly grow cassava, maize, plantains

and tomatoes. To fill the income gap created by growing seasonal crops,

community members started growing plantains, tomatoes and recently

sugarcane. They soon realized that these crops were costly to maintain the

quality the market required and are also taxing on the soil.Knowing this

community members continue to do this as there is no other alternative.

Some community members are also petty traders of household goods

and food.

 

Other than the Susus (the traditional savings system), there is no other

access to credit or savings in rural areas. Yet with the way Susus are

structured, there is very low capital injection into the community. Money just

moves from one community member's hand to another's. The community

members therefore have no control over their financial future and are left to

continue this annual cycle, year after year.

 

Microfinance in Ekumfi Ebuakwa

Ekumfi Ebuakwa was the third community the Microfinance Program in Ghana expanded to in May 2012. The Microfinance Brigades in-country team, a group of Sustainable Development Summer Interns and brigaders from five different universities have worked in this community since then. During this time, staff and volunteers have worked with community members to:

     •  Train and establish a Community Development Fund (CDF)
     •  Provide educational seminars to adults and children in the community on the importance of
        savings, loans, and interest rates.
     •  Promote voluntary savings in the community to reach a level of sustainable capital for the CDF.
     •  Introduce a group loan model system and and training of the CDF Leaders to initiate individual
        loans.

     •  Small Business Assessment and Consulting
     •  Social Enterprice research and business plan creation for a Community Bakery.

Our work in Ekumfi Ebuakwa is not done yet. The loan system is still gaining traction with community members. There is still scope to introduce new loan products catered to the agriculturists in the community. Additionally, there has been huge interest from the community to begin the implementation of the already recognized Community Bakery Business.

 

Business Profiles for this community coming soon!

 

A SWOT Analysis of the Community and its Development Fund

 

Strengths

 

     •  CDF Leader Commitment-The community member and the CDF-Leaders exhibit a great
        commitment to the development fund and believe in the opportunities to improve the local
        infrastructure.

 

     •  Entrepreneurial Drive - The community members seem to be more interested in the business
        development aspect as they believe the growth of small individual businesses coupled with the
        community-wide social businesses will indeed transform the community. They are constantly
        enthusiastic and are always giving their CDF leaders, brigaders and the in-country team new ideas
        for businesses.

 

 

Weaknesses

 

Opportunities

 

     •  Introduction of new CDF Products & Services - As the loan system is still its beginning stages
        in the CDF, the community wants to see more loans with larger amounts. They really appreciate
        the interest rate here as opposed to what they see in the Susus they are associated with and they
        are expecting a growing demand for both saving accounts and loans.

 

     •  Business Development - As mentioned earlier the community is very proactive when it comes to
        development of their businesses in the community. This interest can be channelized through work
        of Business Brigades to bring about long-term economic sustainability.

 

 

Threats

 

     •  Influence of other microfinance institutions – Recently the community has seen another pure
        microfinance institution enter the community that is offering micro-loans and reasonable rates on
        interest. This is an overall positive for the community as they now have increased access to
        financial services, but this system can draw away from the goals of long-term sustainability,
        education and holistic development in the community.

 

     •  CDF Leader Incentives - As the workload for the leaders of the development fund have
        increased, there has been an ask from the CDF leaders for a certain incentive to continue their
        work in the community. This is a discussion that the in-country is having across programs to
        standardize them for all community volunteers.

 

 

Microfinance/Business Brigades Chapters that Worked in Ekumfi Ebuakwa
Brigades Chapter	Month	Program	Volunteers	Brigade Projects
School of Oriental and African Studies, UK	May 2012	Microfinance	14	•  Brigade groups focused on creating the community development fund within the community.   •  After the CDF was established with leaders in place, they started educating the community about the first product, Savings.   •  Through the brigade groups, community members were encouraged to open accounts at the CDF.
London School of Economics and Political Sciences, UK	June 2012	Microfinance	14
Oxford University, UK	September 2012	Microfinance	30	•  Based on the old development model the program had, the group concentrated on educating the community about shares and loans.
University of Southern California, Emory University & Weslyan University, USA	January 2013	Microfinance	22	•  The group concentrated on guageing the community's education level and acumen to successfully handle loans from the CDF. To do this they met with the CDF Leaders and future loan applicants.   •  To fill the gaps that were found the students carried out workshops for community members to fully understand loans and its repayment before they were launched into the community.
London Business School (MBA Program), UK	April 2013	Business	26	•  Consulted with a tailor, carpenter, restaurant owner, fabric seller, and community shop keepers to address key business concerns and to increase overall profitability   •  Identified and developed an initial business plan for a bakery which would serve as a social enterprise for the community
Sustainable Development Summer Interns	July 2013	Business	6	•  Community Bakery Social Enterprise Research and creation a finalized operations and marketing plan. This helped the in-country team and  community members identify potential issues that may come up in the future as well as a current course of action to implement such a large-scale project.
University of Southern California, USA	January 2014	Microfinance	9	•  Brigade group worked with 15 potential loan applicants to develop financial plans (savings plan, investment plan and a potential repayment plan).   •  Identified small family soap making business with potential to grow through business consultations that will be facilitated by business brigades.   •  Carried out research into the agricultural products of maize and tomatoes to help the establishment of a season-based agricultural loan product.

 

Current Status

Last Visit: 30th July, 2013

 

 

 

Visit Other Programs in Ekumfi Ebuakwa

Global Brigades strives to implement a model of Holistic Development in communities through a system of collectively implementing health, economic, and education initiatives to strategically meet a community's development goals. Learn more about the other programs being implemented in Ekumfi Ebuakwa:

 BusinessCHWDental Medical Water