Providing Microloans for the Poor in Tanzania

Opportunity International continues to have a high impact in Tanzania’s rural communities. Opportunity Tanzania provided agriculture loans for inputs and labor to 120 irrigated rice farmers, all of whom received their loans entirely through mobile money banking. Tanzania bank branches have tripled the number of rice and sunflower farmers accessing branchless banking services in the past six months to 1,093. These smallholder farmers have their seeds insured through a local group, MGEN Tanzania, one of Tanzania’s first forays into insuring farmers against crop loss. Services such as crop insurance provide farmers with a safety net should their crops fail, and it gives them peace of mind for their families’ futures during the “hungry season.” Opportunity Tanzania has also equipped agriculture loan officers with motorbikes so they can visit farmers efficiently, and tablets to geo-tag crops and gather financial information.

As Opportunity Tanzania continues to serve underbanked farmers in the most remote areas, they have also begun to focus on farmer families. In Q3 2014, Opportunity Tanzania launched the Education Finance initiative, investing in educational opportunities for children in marginalized communities. Opportunity International is now positively impacting 1.2 million children in 10 countries through this program. As we look back on the achievements of Opportunity Tanzania in 2014, we look forward to empowering more farmers and families in the future.