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MicroLoans & Social Investors
You want to help people in developing countries, but you don't want to saddle them with excessive interest rates and debt traps.
Excessive interest rates and debt traps are a common problem in the micro-loan industry. They can create an unwelcome new burden on borrowers and limit their ability to repay the loan.
GEMFUND is different. We offer reasonable interest rates and flexible repayment terms. Our MicroLoan program is targeted to specific MINING and VALUE ADDITION activities, which minimizes the risk of getting trapped in debt.
Muhammad Yunus is best known for popularizing this significant Economic Development principle. Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist, and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and micro finance . These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor or small-scale to qualify for traditional bank loans.
Yunus and the Grameen Bank we’re jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts through microcredit to create economic and social development from below". The Committee said that "lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty" and that "across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development".
Other examples of organizations and platforms that connect lenders to micro-entrepreneurs are Kiva, Zidisha and the MicroLoan Foundation. Each is worthy of researching further!
Lending to women has become an important principle in microcredit interestingly enough, with banks such as BancoSol catering to women exclusively. Pro Mujer also implemented a new strategy to combine microcredits with health-care services, since the health of their clients is crucial to the success of the program.
Though Grameen Bank, founded by Yunus, initially tried to lend to both men and women at equal rates, women presently make up ninety-five percent of the bank’s clients! In fact, Women continue to make up seventy-five percent of all microcredit recipients worldwide. Exclusive lending to women began in the 1980s when Grameen Bank found that women have higher repayment rates, and tend to accept smaller loans than men.
Unlike other MicroLoan efforts in the developing world, GEM🌍FUND does not collect excessive Interest rates that may create an unwelcome new burden on borrowers. In fact, the MicroLoans from us are typically half as costly as banking institutions in these countries charging up to 40% - with far less demanding conditions! Repayment terms are flexible with GEMFUND - typically over 12 months.
An additional advantage of our MicroLoan program is that borrowers have reasonable maximum limits on the amounts available - and they are targeted to specific MINING and VALUE ADDITION activities. This minimizes a “consumable trap” or “debt trap” that has characterized some historic efforts in this field that have been less successful. Typically individual GEM🌍FUND borrowers are permitted MicroLoans of up to 200,000 Tanzanian or 20,000 Kenyan Schillings - or under $200USD with service fees. But this can go a long way...
This is critically important working capital for Women working in the Artisanal Mining Industry in Tanzania and Kenya. GEM🌍FUND has identified that funds are needed to assist with a) obtaining annual one hectare Mining Licenses; b) bus and personal transport costs to travel to important regional gem mineral exchanges to sell their finds; and c) purchasing tools and safety equipment. A MicroLoan of this amount can begin to address ALL of these barriers to entry to Women. The impact is amplified when individuals work collaboratively on the same mining site.
Finally, the GEM🌍FUND MicroLoan Program succeeds in Tanzania and Kenya especially because of the assistance of our Partners in addition to our own Financial Manager and Geologist who do mine visits. This keeps things running ethically and fairly.
Although there will be hiccups and challenges along the way, we’re confident that each of our investments will create a valuable impact.
Interested in providing a MicroLoan administered through GEM🌍FUND? Your investment will be individually tracked and reported on Quarterly and Annually in a very personal way - and you will be rewarded with a Gemstone & Certificate from one of our Women’s Polishing Groups.
For Social Investments of $1,000 and up we can deliver a greater rate of return for YOU than you can get from your own bank - typically 12%!!! How much are you getting from YOUR investments at present?
Ask us to explain how this Social Investing is possible with your funds… We may even be able to arrange for you to visit and meet the miners you’re supporting through our Ethical Travel programs in East Africa where you’ll receive the VIP treatment.
Thank you for joining us. We look forward to answering your questions and showing you real results as we build Real Fair Trade.
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