Microfinance provider Moris Rasik has doubled the number of its offices serving the rural poor over the past eight months and has moved into two more districts. The expansion means that some 8,000 poor rural families now have access to credit.

With 12 offices in six of Timor-Leste's 13 districts, Moris Rasik is one of the country's largest and most successful microfinance organizations. It is a member of CASHPOR Technical Services, a network of Asian microfinance institutions based on the Grameen Bank model from Bangladesh.

Established in 1999, Moris Rasik's target client base is poor women in rural parts of Timor-Leste. The first loan is usually between $50 and $100. When that is repaid successfully, a client can move on to the next cycle. Repayments rates are high, and many clients have already reached the fourth cycle, with loans of up to $600. From its 12 offices, Moris Rasik currently supports more than 5,500 clients.

Moris Rasik's 37 staff members give applicants its basic asset test, evaluate the needs of new members, train group leaders, and support clients as they learn to improve their businesses. Most loans go to help clients open or expand their small businesses--buying and selling basic food and household items, coffee, clothing, tais (hand-woven traditional cloth), livestock, and fuel.

USAID has supported Moris Rasik through CASHPOR since the beginning of 2001 with a series of grants totaling $209,000. The grants have helped the organization provide loan services to a vulnerable sector of Timor-Leste's population and expand economic activity and employment opportunities in rural communities.

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