Gracious Solutions Self Help Project (GSSHP)

In Mityana, Uganda, the Gracious Solutions Self Help Project (GSSHP) is offering low-interest micro-loans to groups of individuals. The loans will have a positive impact not only on the individual members but the entire community as well. Paul Bain sat down with Pastor Robert, Beatrice and Fred to discuss the vision of the GSSHP.

The individual will benefit from receiving the loan in many ways. The individuals applying for micro-loans are unable to acquire business loans from any other lending institutions in the area. Other institutions demand security collateral from their customers and charge interest rates 4 times as high as the GSSHP (15-20% per month). The loans provided by the GSSHP help the less fortunate business individuals who are unable to receive support from any other program.

These micro-loans improve the individual’s standard of living and help develop their business’s so that they can become self-sustaining and more profitable. Through the process of becoming a GSSHP member the individual also receives some business training and consulting to improve their overall business skills. The GSSHP also provides a savings account for individuals in the community to better manage their income and plan for the future.

The community in Mityana will also benefit from the micro-lending work of the GSSHP. The loans are given out to individual business owners but must be a part of a group. Group lending improves accountability, responsibility, encouragement and empowerment to the individual’s working together. This neighborly support system helps build relationships in the community and strengthen unity.

Furthermore, as individual business’s grow the community’s economy follows suit and progressively develops. This continuation of business growth will attract more business entrepreneurs to the area. The Ugandan government will also be interested in investing in a fast developing community and offer their support.

Altogether, the GSSHP serves to benefit both the individuals and the entire community of Mityana. It is an exciting project to be a part of and will be very successful.

This will be managed by Beatrice Muzaale and Fred Nsamba.

Beatrice Muzaale was born in Kamuli, Uganda in 1978. She is married with two children. Beatrice currently lives in Mityana and works as a bank manager. Beatrice is leading the Gracious Solutions Self Help Project as the field manager. She has completed her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Accounting at Ndejje University in Kampala, Uganda. Beatrice has previous experience in the field of micro-loans and is very knowledgeable in the field. Her future goals are to enroll in the SCCA Chartered Accounting certificate program in December 2011. She will move towards developing her own business consulting firm.

Beatrice is a Born-Again Christian and helps translate sermons at Pastor Robert’s Life House Church. I have had the pleasure working closely with her over the past three weeks and am confident in her professional micro-loan skills.

Fred Nsamba was born in Rakai, Uganda in 1985. Fred currently lives in Mityana and manages Kings Kids internet cafe in the centre of the town. It is a very popular place and been quite successful since it opened in October 2010. The internet cafe is also functioning as the office for the Gracious Solutions Self Help Project. Fred is managing the books of the GSSHP. He has completed a certificate in Computer Science at Datamine Technical Business School in Kampala, Uganda. Fred plans on returning to school part time this August to continue his studies in IT and Computer Science.

Fred is a Born-Again Christian and works as the leading technician in Life House Church. I have enjoyed spending time with Fred this last while and hearing about his excitement for the GSSHP. Fred will be trained by Beatrice in the field work and will eventually move into a managing role for the GSSHP.

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Highlights of Robert's proposal:

Life house community self help project is a Church founded organization founded to predominantly offer financial services to the marginalized populations in the church and the surrounding community in a bid better their socio-economic livelihoods.

The community in Mityana has a sizable population which comprises of a big number of marginalized and un bankable people who are yearning to have something to do but with no working capital.

The commercial banks available require formal collateral from the clients to act as security for the micro finance loans, for instance; logbooks, land titles, fixed deposits, among others. However, the greatest percentages of people do not have such kind of securities, hence non qualification for the loan facilities.

Secondly, operations are quite stringent in a way that before a credit facility is advanced, an appraisal has to be done to on the credit history and asset structure, cash flows and balance sheets of the client and this has disqualified many people because they do not have such records.

It is against this back ground that we came up with a proposal on how impact on and transform the socio-economic livelihoods of the people in our community.
We would like to bring a ray of hope in their lives which will spread to many generations ahead of time.

1.1 MAJOR OBJECTIVE

To advance small term credit facilities to the un employed members in the church to enable them start up small businesses. (Start up category)
To boost those with already existing businesses with working capital. (Working capital category)

1.2 FINANCIAL SERVICES OFFERED

1. Group based loans
2. Savings Scheme

TARGET MARKET

• Marginalized population in the church and community with no formal collateral and enough credit history required by formalized banking institutions.

MARKET PENETRATION SRATEGY

Mityana has a fast growing commercial sector with 4 commercial bank and money lenders.
Life house community self help project will position itself in the financial market by supporting small solidarity groups and this will help the project to be known.

1.3 PROJECT METHODOLOGY

The project will adopt a group based lending strategy because of the need to enhance security for loan funds advanced and also to cause a massive but systematic economic and social transformation in the community.

The group lending method has been embraced because it both advantageous to the lender(Project) and also to the borrower(group members)

To the Lender; the group guarantee acts as the collateral to the secure the loans advanced and thereby giving the lender an opportunity to reach out to many marginalized and disadvantaged people who can not be served under formal banking.

To the borrower; the method of group enhances both economic and social cohesion among the members which enhances personal development. With the group there is also chance of the weak members being lifted up by the strong.

And on the general Christian perspective, working in groups reaches out to many people, building unity among them and bringing them closer to God.