Imbita was formed as a self-help organization for women, and seeks to continue microfinance funding for very poor Swazis in their quest to alleviate poverty for themselves and their families.
This project empowers women to care for themselves and their families through revolving loans in an area not being served by other microcredit organizations. It provides women with credit to start businesses and increases their ability to support their families, especially in a country with the world’s highest HIV/AIDS infection rate. It directly addresses the importance of agricultural communities to begin seeking other income sources as Swaziland continues to suffer from a drought.
Imbita offers three main programs and services: savings, loans and training. Imbita requires that all women who receive loans attend training sessions on cash and credit management, budgeting, marketing, pricing and record-keeping.
Imbita promotes a culture of savings and requires 20 malanga ($4) per month as minimum savings per woman. This has helped women save for their children’s school fees, and for seeds and fertilizers needed in planting season.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
