Social Microfinance in Sierra Leone

Dear donors,

Today, I have good news for you: we opened our first branch in March in the city of Waterloo! This is our 5th branch and it will serve vulnerable populations, particularly in rural areas, in Kissy Town, Lover's Corner Bear-Bear, Lover's Corner Matainkay, Moraby Step, New London Mano Koya, and Small Country.

The arrival of our microcredit, savings and training services was eagerly awaited in Waterloo, and the first information meetings were well attended.

The team, trained and highly committed, consists of a branch manager, a deputy, an assistant and 4 field animators. It has done a tremendous amount of work and, 4 months after opening, is already supporting 1,176 micro-entrepreneurs!

FOCUS on the special loan for farmers

The loan is flexible in terms of amount and duration to suit the capital needs and repayment capacity of small farmers. It is designed for particularly vulnerable people who need a very small loan. The capital provided is used for all types of agricultural production (crops and livestock). It is accompanied by training in agro-ecology, mostly in the fields.

Nancy Miller
Operations Manager

In 2022, MUNAFA supported 9 532 entrepreneurs, and 52% of them were based in rural areas.

For the first time, they had access to loans, savings and trainings. And this changed their lives! Thanks to the training, their credit and savings gave them enough income to buy a fridge and to eat 3 or more meals per day.

Now, 98% of them see improvement in their life as a result of using Munafa products and services.

We want to open 2 new branches in 2023, including one in a rural area, to bring more entrepreneurs into this virtuous circle! It’s really important for us to work in rural areas because there is no other micro finance institution that support Sierra Leonean farmers at the moment.

With a total of 6 branches, all together we will support 15,000, which means 80,000 people emerging from precariousness and gaining their autonomy.

Your generous donations will help us to accelerate our impact.

Once again, we warmly thank all donors,

Last year, MUNAFA supported 7 083 entrepreneurs.

For the first time, they had access to loans, savings and trainings. And this changed their lives!

Credit and savings gave them the capacity to buy more raw materials to develop their production and sales. Trainings improved their capacity to manage their business and increased their benefit.

Then, their efforts became efficient, and they improved their housing, the nutrition and schooling of their kids.

We realized after these first 3 years that our beneficiaries needed support on more social issues to move forward on the path of emancipation. We therefore recruited our very first social worker and started a pilot project. This worker acts on 2 levers:

1. She receives in individual appointments those who are going through a difficulty, identifies their specific needs and then accompanies them to health organizations, to defend their rights or to support the schooling of their children.
2. She organizes talks in the communities on sensitive subjects to fight against certain taboos that hinder women's emancipation.

We want to open 2 new branches in 2023, including one in a rural area, to bring more entrepreneurs into this virtuous circle! It’s really important for us to work in rural areas because there is no other micro finance institution that support Sierra Leonean farmers at the moment.

With a total of 6 branches, all together we will support 15,000 entrepreneurs next year, which means 80,000 people emerging from precariousness and gaining their autonomy.

Your generous donations will help us to accelerate our impact.

Once again, we warmly thank all donors,

In early March, we launched the "Social Microfinance in Sierra Leone" campaign to help a group of 25 young women develop their business.

The health crisis has created a very uncertain context for entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone. In this context, we have decided to increase the objective of this collection from $1,100 to $4,400 in order to be able to help even more women.

Thanks to your generosity, in four months, we have already collected 762€! We would like to express our deepest gratitude. The money already collected will be used to support this group of 25 women.

But we believe we can do more! Many women in Sierra Leone need our support to restart their activities after this health crisis.

Your generous donations will help these women get out of poverty through their businesses. For you it is almost nothing, for them it is almost everything!

Once again, we warmly thank all donors,

Dear donors,

In early March, we launched the "Social Microfinance in Sierra Leone" campaign to help a group of 25 young women develop their business. If the context of entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone was already very complex, it is now even more uncertain because of the health crisis.

First of all, we would like to express our deepest gratitude. The money already collected will be used to support this group of 25 women.

In agreement with the field team in Sierra Leone, we have decided to go even further and to increase the objective of this collection from 1,100$ to 4.400$ in order to be able to help even more women. This decision is motivated by two reasons:

• First, the donations that have already taken place allow us to almost reach our goal, and we believe we can do more.
• Many women in Sierra Leone need our support.

The new donations will help women like Adama, whose portrait you will find in the video in the visuals of this campaign.

Once again, we warmly thank all donors,