Choosing the right time to borrow

Choosing the right time to borrow Cue: For many people, the idea of borrowing money is worrying. What if I can?t pay it back on time? Will I risk losing my possessions or even my house? It?s right to be cautious about taking a loan, and to look carefully at the conditions for borrowing, such as interest rates, payment schedules and penalties for non payment. But taking a loan can still be a good decision, if you have a good investment plan for the money. We hear next from Wambi Michael in Uganda. He recently met a wine producer, who took a loan, used it to build her business, and has recently been recognised with an award. Here?s his report. IN: ?Lack of access to credit is? OUT: ?You are welcome.? DUR?N: 2?47? BACK ANNOUNCEMENT: Thereza Namusisi, founder of the Thereza wine company in Uganda. The interview comes from a resource pack produced by CTA. Transcript Wambi Lack of access to credit is often a major problem for women in Uganda. Even where it is available many women don?t have information about how to access it. Some women have feared to seek credit from micro-finance institutions for fear of being debtors. I?m here in Njeru to meet Thereza Namusisi, a rural Ugandan woman who has taken credit from micro-finance institutions and has excelled. Thereza how did you learn about micro-finance institutions? Namusisi Uganda Gatsby Trust is an organisation which started from the university. But later on they saw that only helping the university students is not enough. So they came down to the grassroots to help women who have small projects. And that?s how I came to learn about it. Wambi Have you ever sought a loan from a commercial bank? Namusisi No. I feared it just because of the problems I see other people facing. Wambi And what did you use the credit for? Namusisi I used it for increasing on my wine productivity. So I increased on the quantity of my wine, and it will make a better quality. Wambi Why are many women in Uganda not accessing credit from micro-finance institutions, even when they are available in the country? Namusisi Women are fearing micro-finance from those unfriendly institutions. Just because once you fail or once you get a problem, they come and confiscate your things, they take plots of land, they want to take houses of people. So it scares people, especially women. Wambi Association of Micro-Finance Institutions and Citibank gave you an award for having got credit, used it well, paid it back. How did you manage to pay back the loan and still improve on your business? Namusisi When I got the loan I utilised it fully. I got a profit. But don?t look at money as money. Just try to get the little money you get and inject it back in your project, that?s how you can only increase your productivity. That?s how you can sustain your project and enlarge your enterprise. That?s the only thing I did myself. Wambi What could be done to ensure that women access more friendly credit? Namusisi If possible they would start with a grant. We can start with something small and grow bigger. By the time you see that you are growing bigger, that?s when a woman should access a loan from the micro-financers, other than starting with a loan from the grassroots. Wambi Thank you very much for your time. Namusisi You are welcome. End track.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
Format: Audio biblioteca
Language:English
Published: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation 2008
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/57428
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