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One
of Timor-Leste's most successful microfinance projects will open
its fifth office this month, expanding its services to Maubisse,
the country's most populous district. Moris Rasik, which means
"independent life" in Tetum, already has a membership
of more than 4,000 rural women in four of Timor-Leste's 13 districts.
First established in 1999, Moris Rasik targets
poor women in rural districts. The new office in Maubisse, in
the mountainous area south of Dili, will offer poor women in that
area access to small loans for self-employment, such as small-scale
trading, livestock and crop production, and provision of services.
Moris Rasik is the Timorese partnership
with CASHPOR Technical Services (CTS), a network of Asian microfinance
institutions that follow adaptations of the Grameen Bank methodology.
Loans have a six-month term and an annual interest rate of 20%.
The maximum amount for a first loan is $100, and the average is
$60. Receiving subsequent loans requires that the borrower maintain
a good repayment record. |
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About 80% of the loans are used for trading activities--buying
and selling household goods, used clothing, livestock, thread,
kerosene, and diesel. The other loans are used for production--bread
making, tais weaving (Timorese traditional cloth), fishing,
and plowing. Access to these loans empowers poor women and reduces
their vulnerability.
USAID began supporting Moris Rasik through CTS in 2001 with capital
goods such as motorcycles for staff use and other start-up investments
that helped build the microfinance institution into an effective
and sustainable program. Follow-up grants in 2002 and 2003 helped
Moris Rasik meet the growing demand for loan capital in Timor-Leste’s
poorest communities.
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