Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project Rural Credit Scheme Funded by the European Union

Business training session Discussion Purpose of the program Key lessons learnt What went well What could have gone better What we would do differently next time Business training session Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

Purpose of Program Objectives: Minimize the social impact of the declining sugar cane industry on households and communities Establish sustainable and supplementary incomes through access to a rural credit scheme, and social support Roadside billboard Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

New business: Car paint Key Lessons Learnt Need for basic technical training – overcome lack of business management knowledge amongst the target population Value add rather than sale of primary product Need for larger loans for existing clients Important to work from the market to the product rather than from the product to the market; to ensure a secure market and sustainability New business: Car paint Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

What Went Well Though there were initial delays in project implementation, project targets have been met 829 clients from the Western and Northern divisions of the country accessed loans (target exceeded by 3.6%) Cumulative Repayment Rate of 80% achieved as of 30 Nov, 2014 68 second loans were disbursed to clients that had successfully paid off their loans Though not initially budgeted for a maximum amount of $5,000 was disbursed as second loans Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

What Went Well Visibility/promotional items were distributed to clients, eg Record Books, Display Panels, Promotional T-Shirts and Caps Clients were able to get a better understanding of starting and running a successful business through attending Entrepreneurship, Business Skills and Financial Literacy Training (facilitated in English, Fijian and Hindi) Technical Trainings provided to clients through networking with industry stakeholders Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

New business: Fabric design What Went Well Strength based approach, we built on the existing capabilities of the farmers Involvement of women; 25 % (206) of clients were women Project specific MIS system designed New business: Fabric design Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

What could have gone better Lending procedures and policies should have been formulated and approved earlier on in the project enabling disbursement of loans to commence much sooner Management Information System should have been designed and brought online during the inception stages of the project Visibility and Communication Activities should have been budgeted for in the initial grant budget Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

What could have gone better Disbursement of larger first loans Use of payment M-Paisa, direct bank deposits to minimize operations costs Joint applications for loans to promote gender equality and ownership Lending to established groups and cooperatives to start up enterprises Ongoing technical training provided to clients New business: Honey bees Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

What we would do differently next time Disbursement of loans into client bank accounts Final approval of loans by loans committee Budget for visibility and communication activities Target further loans at existing clients Budget for larger loans to be disbursed to established (successful) clients Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

What we would do differently next time Encourage joint applications Ongoing technical training provided to clients Maximize use of the MIS system Use of M-Paisa and direct bank deposits for repayments Disbursement of loans to established cooperatives and groups New business: Dairy Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

Questions & Comments? Funded by the European Union Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project