KIVA Investment for December

This month our KIVA investment is going to a group of five women in Fana Koulikoro, Mali, Africa. Their group is called Djekafo group of Yenkadi Association, and their names are Korotoumous Keita, Aminata Sidibe, Tenin Coulibaly, Kamissa Diarra and Naba Keita. They are either related or close neighbours. Their business is food production and sales.

The group members are all are married women, with an average age of 42 years and 4 children each. They live in big traditional families with their husbands and children in the village of Marka Counko in the Fana prefecture of Koulikoro region of the Republic of Mali.

They are on their third group loan and have repaid all preceding loans on time and in full. They plan to use this loan of $1,150.00 USD to buy food ingredients in bulk and to buy milk. They buy their ingredients locally which supports the region's economy, and they sell their products in the village market to other villagers. They expect to make an average monthly profit of 15,000 FCFA (appx $33.00 USD) each. Some profits are reinvested in the business and some go toward daily family expenses.

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is bound by a group guarantee. Members of the group support one another and all are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.

This is our fifth KIVA loan. Every month we look forward to choosing the person or group to support. It feels good to be able to help someone who otherwise might have a tough time climbing out of poverty.