BigDent equals big success in Lodwar!

The expansion of the Missions of Hope microfinance program into the town of Lodwar in Turkana, Kenya, a year ago is yielding impressive results, according to CMF missionary Eric Gephart, who works with MOHI’s Business Development Services (BDS) based in Nairobi.

“We are currently working primarily in Lodwar town, which is a small municipality surrounded by extremely arid and rural Turkana,” said Eric. “We have 18 groups with 253 clients, one of which consists of internally-displaced persons relocated to Lodwar (from Nairobi) after the 2007 post-election violence.”

The total MOHI microfinance program – including Mathare, Lodwar, Eastleigh and Kibera – currently boasts 3,000 to 3,300 active clients, so Lodwar’s 253 are nearly 10 percent of that, which is impressive after only a year. Even more impressive is the fact that the Lodwar branch currently boasts a 100% repayment rate!

“The majority of our clients in Lodwar operate the same kind of businesses we see in Mathare, but as we expand into the rural areas the businesses will become more agricultural and pastoral,” said Eric.

Why the success?

“The reason for the success is due to the lack of opportunities available to the Turkana people, especially in the struggling town of Lodwar,” said Eric. “Although the town is very urban, with two satellite universities, a busy market and an airport, most of the roads aren’t paved. It’s a small town – you can drive from one end to the other in about 10 minutes — but the biggest town for hundreds of miles in any direction.

“Also, Missions of Hope offers very competitive loan rates, and MOHI’s Napuu school has generated a very good name, which has helped bring in many clients who are related to the children there,” he added.

Potential

Eric sees unlimited potential for microfinance in the Lodwar region, but the surrounding communities and villages are remote and hard to get to, making it difficult for a loan officer to attend meetings and do the weekly banking.

“Right now we have only one loan officer serving all 253 clients and loans, but we hope to expand that in the near future,” he said. “We are working on ways to reach other communities and tap into the potential there.

“The program in Lodwar is exciting with a lot going on,” Eric added. “It will continue growing and we may discover that someday it rivals the program in Mathare!”

Lodwar success stories

These four entrepreneurs have seen dramatic changes in the lives of their families since the MOHI microfinance program began offering accountability groups and micro-loans in Lodwar, Turkana, Kenya.

Helen lives in Napuu (just outside Lodwar) with her husband and children and operates a small produce stand where she sells cabbage and tomatoes. She used to keep her semi-permanent produce stand in Napuu, but couldn’t sell enough to provide for her family. She joined a BigDent self-help group in 2015 and has been saving money each week. She has just taken her first loan of about $200, bought a shop in the newly-built town market in Lodwar and moved her business there. She also invested in more stock so her business looks really nice. Already she has seen a difference in her income. She is excited that she is now able to save enough money to send her children to school.