FINCA International’s BrightLife is piloting a new initiative that brings solar lanterns to rural schools in Uganda. The project, led by FINCA UK with funding from a FINCA UK supporter and the Signify Foundation, allows students to use solar lanterns in school and borrow them to take home—much like you would borrow a book from a library—to facilitate evening studying for off-grid households.
Off-Grid Students are at a Disadvantage Compared to their On-Grid Peers
When the sun sets across most of sub-Saharan Africa, where two-thirds of the population has no access to electricity, the school day ends and learning stops. For an entire half day, students and teachers must suspend academic activities—reading, homework, tutoring, grading—until the natural light returns in the morning. Rural areas are the least connected to the electrical grid, yet their schools and students must compete for results with their more connected urban counterparts. For those lucky to be on-grid, the electricity is often unreliable and expensive, while few alternatives exist. Countries like Uganda have committed to improving educational access and outcomes for all children, but grid and other infrastructural constraints continue to pose the biggest handicap to rural schools. To contribute to efforts to level the playing field for these rural schools, FINCA UK has joined hands with one of its supporters and the Signify Foundation to bring a solar energy program, known as “Lamp Library,” to schools in developing countries. The project is piloting in Uganda through FINCA International’s clean energy social enterprise, BrightLife.
The Lamp Library Helps to Create a Level Playing Field
The project identifies a selection of schools in peri-urban and rural areas that have little or no access to electricity and retrofits them to house 100 solar lamps per school. In the selection process, BrightLife meets with the school faculty, students and parents to introduce the project and gauge local community support. Students in selected schools will be able to use lamps on-campus and have the option to also take them home for evening study.Students at the Mbute primary school holding their new solar lamps as part of BrightLife’s “Lamp Library” initiative. In addition, a curriculum co-developed with an educational consultant will teach students about the benefits of solar energy. This program will give the students’ households direct access to BrightLife so they can learn more about its innovative and life-enhancing clean energy products. School administrations also have the opportunity to benefit from training in entrepreneurship and how to leverage this project to generate new revenue streams for their schools. Stefan Grundmann, President & CEO of BrightLife, had this to say:
It is easy to underestimate the value of light if you haven’t experienced off-grid living, but for students it could be the difference between pursuing academic interests and settling for a lifetime of unexplored potential. Our hope is that the Lamp Library can help to facilitate more learning and academic engagement in rural schools.
Mbute Primary School hosts the first Lamp Library launched by BrightLife in Uganda. The first Lamp Library officially opened in February in Mbute, a public primary school in Mpigi District, 60 miles outside the capital, Kampala. In the coming months, the project will be rolled out to two additional schools located in Jinja District in eastern Uganda. Combined, the three schools serve nearly 1,200 students.
Assessing the Impact of Solar Lighting on Education
BrightLife will monitor the participating schools on a monthly basis to review progress, track impact metrics and introduce additional clean energy products to interested families. As part of its mission, the project intends to study the impact that solar energy access can have on students’ education, particularly if energy access leads to greater resiliency in schools and households. In addition to the goal of improving educational outcomes, the project also hopes to create a pathway for improved energy access among low-income communities. If you are interested in learning more about the Lamp Library initiative and donating to support the project, please contact Bill Lane at [email protected].
While financial inclusion has been on the rise globally, driven by mobile phones and the internet, the gap in account ownership between men and women has stagnated. In fact, according to the World Bank’s 2017 Global Findex, the gender gap has widened in some countries, including Pakistan.
At financial institutions, Pakistani men outnumber women account holders by 68 percent. In mobile banking, the gap widens to 78 percent.
Since FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited (“FINCA Pakistan“) re-branded in 2013, it has been working tirelessly to bring financial solutions closer to women. Last year, FINCA Pakistan reached an agreement to provide SimSim, its digital payments solution, to Ghar Par, a professional home beauty service. Ghar Par provides a platform for women to offer their beauty services to other women at their homes in Islamabad and Lahore. The partnership between FINCA Pakistan and Ghar Par provides beauticians with SimSim accounts. SimSim, Pakistan’s first free-to-use mobile wallet, was developed in partnership with Finja, a Pakistan-based fintech company. It enables Ghar Par’s employees to make and receive payments digitally. Designed to be as easy to use as possible, the product minimizes the hassle for women who may be less familiar with mobile technology or banking. In a country where only 7 percent of women have bank accounts, digital platforms could be transformative. SimSim is, quite literally, the first bank account ever held by many of the women who use the service, including many Ghar Par employees. It solves several barriers to financial inclusion for women in Pakistan, including accessibility, security, privacy and convenience. Women employees can now electronically transfer their earnings without the inconvenience or risk of carrying cash back to the head office. Further, digital platforms such as SimSim offer FINCA Pakistan and other financial service providers an opportunity to understand the payment behavior of users so that they can tailor credit and other products that further strengthen women’s inclusion into the financial system.
Judith Ocendi lives with her husband, Samuel, a home builder, and their two children, ages 5 and 16, in Uganda. Two years ago, Judith was looking for work when she met Joseph, a FINCA Uganda employee. Joseph told Judith about BrightLife, a FINCA initiative that brings clean energy products to poor and off-grid families. Judith was already familiar with FINCA’s microfinance services. In fact, many of the women in her community were members of Village Banking™ groups. With the backing of a trusted name like FINCA, BrightLife caught Judith’s attention. Even better, it would allow her to make an impact doing something she was experienced in: selling solar energy products. So, Judith applied to become a senior sales agent for BrightLife.
I really enjoy working with the grassroots, local people—those with varying socioeconomic status. I like being able to change peoples’ lives and perceptions about what is possible.
For Judith, the job with BrightLife aligned her career interests and personal goals. Employment with BrightLife allows Judith not only to pay her children’s school fees, but also to help her local community.BrightLife sales supervisor, Judith Ocendi, showing a client how to use a clean cookstove. In just one year with BrightLife, Judith has seen the special bond FINCA creates with its customers. “One man told me he really likes the way FINCA follows up with its clients—always checking-in to see how they are doing and to introduce new products and services that benefit their lives,” recounted Judith.
He said he likes how FINCA remembers each and every client.
After demonstrating strong commitment and results, Judith was promoted to a sales supervisor. Her leadership will be a great asset as BrightLife looks to grow and bring clean energy to more Ugandans.
Have women achieved equality? Today, women certainly have many more opportunities than generations ago. But there is still an area where women’s participation is severely lacking. Globally, women face great challenges in working. Women’s economic participation is critical to growing economies. In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts that if the global economic gender gap were narrowed, the world’s GDP could grow by $12 trillion by 2025. Yet, only 49 percent of women participate in the world’s labor force, as compared to 75 percent for men. Women are more likely than men to bear the responsibility of unpaid work at home, limiting their availability to join the workforce. They also make up the majority of informal workers – such as domestic workers, street vendors or seasonal laborers – that are unprotected by the government with wages paid under-the-table, if at all. Even if a woman wanted to start her own business, she faces limitations in accessing financial services, like small loans or savings accounts. That is why, for over 30 years, FINCA has been improving the lives of women with the help of financial services. Our female clients access small loans to build their businesses, increase their incomes and save for the future. As their businesses grow, these FINCA clients create a ripple. They hire women as employees, creating jobs and boosting the local economy. FINCA celebrates these pathbreakers who not only find success as entrepreneurs but help other women in their community thrive.
Mama Kapu, Tanzania
Mama Kapu always dreamt of becoming a restauranteur in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She initially used FINCA loans to purchase a small plot of land to build her restaurant. As the business grew, so did her team. She was able to hire five female employees, most who relied on Mama Kapu’s business to feed, clothe and school their own children. “When I got a job at Mama Kapu’s restaurant, I thanked God,” Amina, one of Mama Kapu’s employees says. “I am a widow and have two children to look after. Getting a job is so difficult.”
Betty Nakintu, Uganda
Betty Nakintu is a woman with endless energy. Ask her about her nursery and primary school in Kampala, Uganda, and she beams with pride, happily showing the many buildings and facilities for her school of 750 kids. Thanks to FINCA loans, Betty was able to build her school. Working from 6 am to 5 pm, Betty occasionally teaches classes but spends most of her day managing her 46 staff members and teachers, many of whom are women. She trains her teachers as well and takes pride in being in their supervisor. Sunny, who has been teaching at the school for two years, appreciates Betty’s management of the school. “I like the facilities and environment,” she says. “Everyone is cooperative.”
Customer-driven research is a continuous undertaking at FINCA. We collect data about our clients’ living standards and businesses to understand how they are benefitting from our programs and how we may better serve them. Recently, our Research team, led by Scott Graham and Anahit Tevosyan, conducted household surveys among FINCA clients in Haiti, with support from Global Affairs Canada. Survey data confirm that mission outreach in Haiti is strong: More than two-thirds of FINCA Haiti borrowers are living on less than $2 per day and about one-third live below the national poverty line. Additionally, 86 percent of FINCA’s borrowers in Haiti are women. Unsurprisingly, we found that incomes are markedly lower among women and people in rural areas. The data also paints a sobering picture of public services in Haiti. Most clients lack drinkable water in their homes. Sanitation is rudimentary and electricity is scarce. Despite these challenges, FINCA Haiti clients are able to save their resources and secure some basic assets (e.g., motorcycle, TV). This shows that poverty is not a monolithic phenomenon in people’s lives. Even while they contend with low incomes and difficult living conditions, FINCA clients find a way to achieve freedom of movement and information. Review the infographics below for a visual summary of the survey findings.
FINCA Canada was thrilled to be Horizon Travel and Lifestyle magazine’s March cover story–just in time to celebrate International Women’s Day. Horizon is a travel and lifestyle magazine distributed throughout Canada and the United States. It shares exciting travel destinations and attractions; however, the magazine also regularly features a story about organizations that are supporting international development and social justice. FINCA Canada ambassador Chloe Wilde represented FINCA Canada. She shared her reasons for supporting FINCA Canada and the important work FINCA Canada is doing by “allowing women to no longer be bystanders of their life due to societies’ roadblocks or economic challenges.” This is the second time FINCA has been featured on the cover of Horizon. We asked Horizon’s Executive Editor Holly Cambruzzi about her choice to include FINCA Canada.
This is the second time FINCA has had the opportunity to be featured in Horizon. Tell me about that decision.
I love working with our nonprofit partners and their celebrity ambassadors. Organizations like FINCA Canada are doing life-changing work and it really is an honour to be able to provide a platform to help share their message and increase their visibility. Many of these causes are very personal to their founders — so much so that these individuals have dedicated their lives to their missions. When you see that type of passion and commitment, it’s impossible not to be inspired. These groups are changing the world; I just want to help tell their story.
Is there something about FINCA that resonates with you?
Last year we received a lot of positive feedback. It was clear our readers and our social media community resonate with the work you are doing. So this year, when we decided to dedicate our March issue to International Women’s Day, we knew we wanted to see FINCA on the cover. Not only was it important that we feature a strong female celebrity ambassador, we also wanted to shine a spotlight on a nonprofit that empowers women — FINCA was the perfect choice. On a personal level, I find it very rewarding to promote a cause that is equalizing opportunities for women around the world. Initially, our readers will be drawn to your ambassador, Chloe Wilde, as she is a familiar face and a respected local celebrity. Once they read her eloquent interview about FINCA and discover how access to the right financial tools can change a woman’s life and transform her family’s future, there’s no doubt they will want to learn more. Chloe does an impeccable job at capturing the heart of what FINCA does. I think our readers will read about Chloe’s experiences and want to get involved.
What do you hope your readers will take away from the piece?
We hope the interview will open our readers’ eyes to the power of financial inclusion. Providing women and other marginalized individuals in the developing world access to basic financial tools and opportunities can help them escape poverty and live better lives. When you donate to FINCA Canada, you not only are helping one individual, you are helping their family…you are helping a whole community.
As a professional engineer working in the construction industry, FINCA Canada ambassador Alexandra Brunet knows first-hand the impact each one of us can have on changing the status quo. She tells us what motivates her to support FINCA Canada.
What really moved me about FINCA Canada and their microfinance approach is the fact that FINCA loans are paid back at a rate of nearly 100 percent in some of the most impoverished countries in the world. I love that FINCA Canada empowers women who are already hardworking and entrepreneurial. These women just need an opportunity to allow them to rise out of poverty. FINCA is that catalyst.
Changing the Status Quo for Women
“A couple of years into my career, I found myself at a work retreat where I was the only female in the room–surrounded by 75 men. As a professional engineer in a male-dominated industry, this is something I am used to. However, at that moment, I felt particularly proud to be changing the status quo. FINCA Canada’s work is allowing more women to do the same.”
Giving back is important
“I am motivated to be part of a movement that lifts women professionally, spiritually and intellectually worldwide. As a Canadian woman, I feel extremely fortunate to be in a country where I had the opportunity to attain higher education and become financially independent. I want to encourage others to support FINCA Canada’s oppHERtunity campaign so they, too, can be a part of a movement that is lifting communities out of poverty.
We need to believe in each other and invest in each other in order to create sustainable partnerships between communities and countries.
The UN states that one of their key millennium development goals is to promote gender equality and empower women. As a member of the international community, Canadians can play a meaningful role in achieving these goals. By giving to FINCA Canada, Canadians can become agents of change in attaining this development goal. Be a part of that change!” Follow our stories to learn more about our work and our exemplary ambassadors.
A woman carts her goods home from her day of selling at the Cap Haitien market.
Assessing Our Impact in Haiti
The entrepreneurs who work with FINCA know their business. They understand their clientele, their competition and the ebb and flow of demand for their product. FINCA Canada’s goal is to enable them to achieve success on their own terms. An essential part of that is understanding the obstacles that stand in their way, a lesson we were recently reminded of during a field visit to Haiti. “It can be difficult for us–who can purchase almost anything at our local mall or through the click of a mouse–to grasp the challenges of running a small business in a developing economy,” says Jane Imai, FINCA Canada’s Senior Program Manager. Imagine having to cart your wares to and from the market every day in a wheelbarrow or in the back of a pickup truck. Imagine being stuck in daily traffic jams so congested that a 15 km drive takes you over two hours. Add to that the demand of more than four hours of daily household chores, such as gardening and getting firewood and water. Market sellers in Cap Haitien commuting to work.
Understanding Client Needs
FINCA Canada wants to empower entrepreneurs–particularly women–in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to succeed. “In order to do this effectively, we need to trust their know-how,” says Imai. “We need to understand their roadblocks and ensure the services we are offering meet their needs.” A recent FINCA International study found that household demands give men a three-hour head start on their female counterparts. What else is holding women back? FINCA Canada, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), launched a gender assessment to better understand this disparity. The goal is to ensure our products and services are meeting the needs of all FINCA clients in Haiti and the DRC while taking into consideration gender-based differences.
Best Laid Plans
Imai traveled to Haiti in February to run the field work for the assessment, including running focus groups with current clients. The plan was to hold eight focus groups with business women and men from across the country as well as a series of one-on-one in-depth interviews. However, an eruption of unexpected political unrest and social turmoil made it impossible for participants to attend the focus groups safely. “It was really challenging,” says Imai. “Our team in Haiti had done all kinds of work to set up these meetings, and then chaos erupted and people were unable to leave their homes. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the struggles our clients regularly face.” In the end, FINCA Canada’s security protocols meant Imai had to cut the meetings short and leave the country.
Picking Up Where We Left Off
Despite this setback, Imai remains undeterred.
FINCA’s clients rely on us to support the progress of their business. The backing they receive from FINCA contributes directly to the betterment of their families and communities.
Plans are already in place for Imai and members of the FINCA Canada team to return to Haiti to complete the gender equity research. “This work is never seamless,” says Imai. She warns against the North American habit of focusing on short-term objectives, rigid timelines, and a checklist approach. She points out how social and political instability can lead to unexpected delays; however, she adds that taking the time to truly understand the needs of the businesswomen we serve, guarantees we are helping to make a real impact. “And that,” she says, “makes our contribution truly meaningful.”
Every day, thousands of Canadians contribute to poverty alleviation and international humanitarian assistance in developing countries. Since 1991, these efforts have been celebrated coast to coast during the International Development Week (IDW).On Feb 5, FINCA Canada joined the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister for International Development, Global Affairs Canada and dozens of inspiring organizations to celebrate Canada’s action for global development under the theme “Together for Gender Equality”.The signature event, hosted by our FINCA Canada ambassador and ETalk reporter Chloe Wilde, was broadcasted LIVE from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa!Chloe asked Women Deliver Youth leaders, Barbara Nzigiye (n-Zee-Gee) and Reina Foster, what they thought about Canada’s opportunity for promoting gender equality, here and overseas. Originally from Rwanda, Barbara has been involved in supporting students from around the world for a number of years. Reina, from the Lac Seul First Nation, is an advocate for First Nations Youth who has represented them in multiple forums, with a special lens on, especially mental health support. Reina believes that “in order to achieve gender equality, we have to look and hear the voices of the young people.”These inspiring interviews were followed by a powerful word poetry piece, made by Jay Webster, 17, Sophia Abolore, 15, and Urooba Ahmed, 14, from Winnipeg. These Manitobans expressed important gender issues that hold the key to women empowerment.The event ended with a dynamic performance by Kindred Culture, a Dance Group, dancers from Toronto who teamed up with World Vision in El Salvador.Now that our batteries have been recharged, it is time to roll our sleeves again and drive lasting changes!
FINCA Canada is proud to be expanding its Ambassadors program in 2019. This year, we have 18 ambassadors who will be supporting our efforts. We will be bringing you their perspectives over the year. Denise Shirazi is Editor in Chief, CNA Media Group Ltd and co-founder of several print and digital publications. Over the years, I have worked with many exceptional NGO’s who are truly dedicated to making a positive difference in the world. FINCA’s programs benefit millions of people across five continents through financial inclusion and, they continue to seek new innovative sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest problems. Their entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to finding lasting answers to the struggles of the world’s poorest make the decision to join the movement an easy one. For me personally, the decision to join FINCA goes even deeper. As a young person, I did not understand how fortunate I was to be born in Canada. I did not appreciate that being Canadian offered me the beauty of education, the freedom of the right to vote, the strength of having access to health care and inclusivity for all. Now, as an adult, and more importantly a mother, I value these gifts, which I took for granted in my younger years. I truly understand and appreciate the difficulties women, (mothers) in impoverished countries struggle with every day. While my husband and I have enjoyed entrepreneurial success, it was not without first experiencing failure. More importantly, the timing of our failed business was scary, as we were new parents. I appreciate that a mother in a third world country and myself will take a different journey in life; yet, we both have the same goal: to bring up healthy, happy children. Now, I have an opportunity to change the life of a woman, a mother, her family and her community with FINCA. This excites me! I genuinely understand the dignities that can be lost when a parent struggles financially. Knowing that I can offer even one Mom a hand up, fills my heart’ Noula Moel, FINCA client in Haiti
Why do you feel the need to give back?
Truthfully, giving back feels good. Also, I believe giving back is one of the most important things an entrepreneur can do. Actual giving back is done without wanting or expecting anything in return but there is always return—the joy knowing you have made a difference is incredible.
How does financial access help empower women? Why should Canadians care?
Access to credit can open economic opportunities for anyone; the problem is that women face far greater difficulties gaining access to financial services than men. FINCA has changed this for many women in developing countries, but there is still a lot of work to do. I believe Canadians do care and that it is our job to spread the word about FINCA’s work so that we can all have the opportunity to be a part of the solution.
What is important to you? What change do you hope to make in the world?
Making a positive difference in the world and inspiring my children to want to do the same, is everything to me.
The UN states that one of their key millennium development goals is to promote gender equality and empower women. As a member of the international community, Canadians can play a meaningful role in achieving these goals. By giving to FINCA Canada, Canadians can become agents of change in attaining this development goal. Be a part of that change!” Follow our stories to learn more about our work and our exemplary ambassadors.
