A self-managed, village savings and lending scheme
Efforts to Mitigate the Impact of AIDS on Clients, Households, and Enterprises
The Kupfuma Ishungu Rural Microfinance Project (KI-RMFP) is a four-year program, designed to build the capacity of communities to mobilize and manage savings that can then be used to grant loans to meet the production, consumption, and social needs of vulnerable members (mainly women) of the communities.
Kupfuma Ishungu operates in largely rural areas and has limited coverage of semi-urban settlements. Its rural communities consist of households that are largely dependent on agriculture, but are willing to and/or already engage in off-farm activities to improve their sources of income.
As of June 2004, total cumulative savings worth Z$ 1,375,461,246 (US$ 259,521) had been mobilized by the KI program since its inception. These savings were the source of 189,956 internal loans worth Z$ 3,478,784,727 (US$ 656,374). Interest and penalties on loans contributed Z$ 665,784,634 (US$ 125,620), or 48 percent, to overall savings. A total of Z$ 614,424,801 (US$ 115,929) of accumulated savings was shared out in lump sums.
