Partner meeting Uganda 2008

From 29 June to 6 Juli 2008 a second meeting on bicycle micro finance was held in Jinja (Uganda). This meeting was a follow up of the meeting in Burkina Faso in 2007. During the meeting organisations participated from Burkina Faso (AVO), Ghana (AAMCT), Uganda (FABIO), Egypt (NHASD) and Kenya (Uvumbuzi). Cycling out of poverty coordinated the meeting. A Ugandan consultant on micro finance Andrew Obara was a special guest for this meeting. Andrew gave a training on sustainability of micro finance. A major topic of discussion was how to safe guard the continuity of the project. How can the micro finance system sustain itself. Another important topic of discussion was how to deal with default. Things such as having a group guarantee were discussed. Also an insurance model was discussed, of which a percentage of the instalments is put in a special fund which can be used in case of default of one bicycle owners. Anther point of discussion was the administrative cost of the projects, selection of applicants, using reduced rates or not, how to handle damaged, stolen or lost bicycles when they are not paid for yet. All in all an interesting exchange, which has motivated the participants to improve their projects.