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BENEFICIARY Entrepreneur
Junu Maya Gautam has earned enough to put
a new roof on her house
Seven years ago, 42-year-old Junu-maya Gautam was down and out. Her husband had died; she had three small children—and no income. That same year, a landslide had swept away her hillside house in Kavre District, Nepal.
With nothing left in Kavre, Ms. Gautam moved to Kathmandu to work as a housemaid. Her sister introduced her to a nongovernment organization (NGO), Creative Women Development Association, that helped her get a small loan from the Microcredit Project for Women, supported by ADB.
With the $60 loan she received from the project, Ms. Gautam bought vegetables from wholesalers on the outskirts of Kathmandu to sell in the city. She made a small profit and used this to pay off the loan. She then borrowed $260, and later $450 from the project to run two businesses.
In the mornings, Ms. Gautam sold vegetables; in the afternoons, she sold peanuts at bus stops. She not only paid off her loans on time, but also managed to send her children to school, buy a small piece of land, and build a modest house in Kathmandu. She is currently renovating her house and replacing the temporary roof with a concrete casting.
COOPERATIVE POWER Women have used small loans to open shops, buy livestock, and provide work for otherwise unemployed relatives
In addition to her two businesses, Ms. Gautam now owns a tea stall, which is managed by a business partner. She also lent some money to her partner so she could also start a business. “The Project helped me when I was poor,” she says. “Now that I can afford it, I want to help other poor and needy people like me.”
The project, completed in 2002, has benefited thousands of women. Santa Kumari Gurung, of Chitwan, is another example. Her unemployed husband used to while away his time drinking alcohol and playing cards. They had no property and no source of income.
She borrowed money from the project through the Pragati Women’s Savings and Credit Cooperatives to buy livestock and rent land for vegetable farming. Now both husband and wife work on the farm and make a good income. Ms. Gurung is happy that the project provided the money to start her business, and provides employment for her husband. “I am very grateful to the project for giving me the loan,” she says. “I am happy that my husband is working now and not wasting his time.”
Though the individual loans may seem small, they have made a big impact on the lives of the poor who would otherwise have no access to capital
With a $5 million concessional loan from ADB’s Asian Development Fund, the project has helped improve the socioeconomic status of 41,681 poor women in 12 of Nepal’s 75 districts and in 5 municipalities.
The project also provided skills training and institutional support to NGOs. Implemented through Nepal’s Department of Women Development under the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare, the project employed the Women’s Development Section and selected local NGOs to reach the targeted beneficiaries.
The Women’s Development Section and the partner NGOs formed women’s self-help groups and provided them with small loans to start businesses.
Many of these groups later federated into savings and credit cooperatives. The project also strengthened the capacities of partner NGOs and led to the upgrading of 37 partner NGOs—including eight savings and credit cooperatives—into financial intermediaries.
These NGOs continue to function as financial intermediaries even after the completion of the project, and many receive funds from the Rural Microfinance Development Center, an apex finance institution established by the Government of Nepal, also with support from ADB’s Asian Development Fund.
Though the individual loans may seem small, they have had a big impact on the lives of the poor who would otherwise have no access to capital. ADB support for microfinance has also provided a financial safety net by helping the beneficiaries form self-help groups and save money that can be borrowed in times of need.
By increasing women’s access to funds, the project has also helped enhance the role of women within the family. Women have used loans to open shops and provide work for their otherwise unemployed relatives. Some women have even bought rickshaws for their husbands.
“We get more respect,” says Indira Dahal, Secretary of the Shree Mahila Multipurpose Savings and Credit Group. “Because we earn money, other members of our family listen to what we say.”
Mahalaxmi Gurung, of Sharda Nagar, is an elderly project beneficiary. She asks ADB, “Are you just going to give us small loans and limit us to the community level, or make us capable of being players in the national scene? We have done enough at the community level. Now we want to contribute to national development, and you should help us.”
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