Under this subcomponent, so far three partners have commenced implementation of various projects namely Heifer International; Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperative (MUSCCO) Ltd; and Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP), while four other partners are yet to take off implementation of their projects upon finalization of the grant process including Action Aid; Malawi Milk Producers Association (MMPA); Direct Aid from People to People (DAAP); and Opportunity International Malawi.
Project Partner: Heifer International
1. Project Title: ENHANCING COMMUNITY BASED FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION PROJECT (ECBFO)
PARTNER’S PROFILE : Heifer International began working in Malawi in 2006, providing training for farming families in livestock and crop production, and working with them to apply climate-smart agricultural techniques to conserve water. By applying sustainable farming techniques, farmers are diversifying crop yields, incomes, and diets, and are
more resilient to climate shocks in Kasungu, Dowa, Lilongwe, Mchinji in the central region of Malawi and Thyolo district in the southern region. So far 24,000 farmers have
received training in climate smart agriculture and HIV/AIDS awareness, while 6,000 dairy farmers have benefitted from milk production interventions including training to
enable them access to animal health and breeding services.
ABOUT THE PROJECT: Heifer International Malawi is implementing the ECBFO project to improve access to rural finance services through strengthening existing and building new and innovative informal community based financial organizations savings and loans products.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES: 1,056,250 Malawians are targeted through establishment of 2,535 new CBFOs and strengthening additional 5,915 existing CBFOs. 211,250 participating households are expected to move towards closing the Living Income gap.
PROJECT AREA: Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Lilongwe, Dowa, Kasungu, Mchinji, Mzimba and Nkhatabay districts.
PROJECT PERIOD: 3 years (2019-2022)
PROJECT INTERVENTIONS:
- Development of pro-poor value chains, strengthen access to finance (particularly
for women), and enable market linkages. - Helping farmers organized into CBFOs to increase their incomes.
- Enhancing social, technical and financial capacity of new and existing CBFOs.
- Establishing and strengthening CBFOs linkages to formal financial sector and
high value market. - Expanding economic opportunities for young women and men and adult women
through equitable financial inclusion.
Project Partner: Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperative (MUSCCO)
2. Project Title: RURAL LIVELIHOODS ENHANCEMENT THROUGH STRENGTHENING AND SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY BASED FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
PARTNER’S PROFILE : Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (MUSCCO) is a member-based organisation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs)
operating throughout Malawi. The SACCO Movement came to Malawi in 1962 in Dedza, Reverend Chimole introduced a Thrift and Credit Society at Mngonoondo which
resembled a SACCO. Among others, MUSCCO provides technical assistance to SACCOs; formulates and promotes policies; and provides central finance facility to its affiliates. So far 60 SACCO’S with a total membership of 80000 clients have been established.
ABOUT THE PROJECT: The Rural Livelihoods Enhancement Through Strengthening and Support for Community Based Financial Organizations Project is addressing limited access to financial services challenges through domestic savings mobilization structures coupled with assured financial fall back base to complement farmers’ own
mobilized resources that enable farmers’ access to quality inputs, capital and much needed financial education. The projects expects to mobilise MK 635,000,000,000 in rural communities and reduce financial literacy by 10% in the community based financial organizations by 2021 and Support 8 rural community SACCOs that will anchor the VSLAs by 2022.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES: Incomes of 190,500 smallholder farmers to be increased and their families in turn will be linked to 12,700 VSLs in eight rural community based SACCOs.
PROJECT AREA: Chitipa, Ntchisi, Salima, Mangochi, Ntcheu, Blantyre, Thyolo and Chikwawa, in a total of twenty two Traditional Authorities.
PROJECT PERIOD: 3 years (2019-2022)
PROJECT INTERVENTIONS:
- Making financial resources accessible to SHFs for sourcing
farm inputs for agricultural production, and capital for off-farm-enterprises.
Project Partner: Direct Aid to People from People (DAPP)
3. Project Title: POVERTY REDUCTION OF VULNERABLE BENEFICIARIES THROUGH COMMUNITY BASED FINANCIAL ORGANISATION SUPPORT AND SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (PROVED)
PARTNER’S PROFILE : Direct Aid to People from People (DAPP) Malawi is a locally registered NGO established in in Malawi in 1995. DAPP Malawi is a local member of the Humana People to People Federation, a network of 32 locally registered and managed organizations in 43 countries that work with communities and engage local and national
leaders to implement local solutions for improved food security. In Malawi, DAPP started as a clothes sale business to generate funds for the first Child Aid social project in Chikankeni, Chiradzulu District. The organization has grown with a work force of more than 800 employees who reach out to approximately one million people across Malawi.
DAPP’s work focusses on increasing access to inclusive quality education; improving food-security and economic growth among small holder farmer; improving children’s conditions; and fighting of HIV & AIDS, TB and Malnutrition.
ABOUT THE PROJECT: Upon finalisation of the grant process by the FARMSE PMU, DAPP will implement the PROVED project which embraces the village savings and
loans association (VSLA) approach and is designed to solve the challenges of access to rural financial services. The project aims at reducing economic vulnerability of the poor and vulnerable beneficiaries and contribute towards poverty reduction in Malawi.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES: 20,000 households through the formation of 520 CBFOs in Nkhotakota and 480 in Nkhatabay districts. 50% women 30% men and 10% young women and 10% young men).
PROJECT AREA: Nkhotakota and Nkhatabay.
PROJECT PERIOD: 3 years (2020-2023)
KEY ACTIVITIES:
- Sensitization meetings at district level.
- Community consultation, need assessment, project participant’s identification.
- Community awareness to form/strengthen identified CBFO.
- IEC materials development and publication.
- Capacity strengthening of project staff.
- Technical training for CBFO leaders and members on selected value chains.
- Institutionalization of the established CBFO.
- Provision of Extension services to the CBFO.
- Enterprises identification, selection and business development.
- Conduct skill transfer training based on Training Needs Assessment (TNA).
- Develop household level business plan.
- Livelihood assets support on revolving basis for CBFO members.
- Conduct livelihood assessment.
- Facilitate the linkage of VSLA and Formal Financial Service providers.
- Coordination, communication and visibility.
- Conduct regular monitoring and follow-up.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES:
- Formation and Functioning of 1000 CBFO’s to develop a model of enterprises
financing based on basic finance principles. - Enhanced potential income generation activities options of targeted 20,000
beneficiaries for increasing income and assets. - 1000 CBFO capacity strengthened and 500 linked to formal financial institutions
in the districts. - Developed, documented and disseminated lesson learning to strengthen small
scale enterprises financing initiatives.
Project Partner: Malawi Milk Producers Association (MMPA)
4. Project Title: COMMUNITY BASED VALUE CHAIN FINANCING (CBVCF)
PARTNER’S PROFILE : Established in 1985 and registered in 1996 Malawi Milk Producers association is a member based apex organization for small scale farmers in Malawi. The affiliated organizations to MMPA are Shire Highlands Milk Producers Association (SHMPA), Central Region Milk Producers Association (CREMPA) and Mpoto Dairy Farmers Association (MDFA). In total the regional associations have 94 Milk Bulking Groups (MBGs) with a total membership of 20,100 of which11,658 are men
and 8,442 women (42%). MMPA’s vision is to increase capacity and services to smallholder farmers through strengthened dairy farmer organizations (primary milk producer cooperatives and associations) and regional associations (SHMPA, CREMPA and MDFA). MMPA has therefore a mission of Scaling up Dairy Production to Alleviate Poverty and Increase Nutritional Diversity in the country. MMPA is an organization whose values include Transparency; Accountability; Honesty and integrity; Democratic
governance; Non-discrimination; Gender equality and Political neutrality. In its operations MMPA has five thematic areas which include Organizational Development; Production and Productivity; Lobbying and Advocacy; Strengthening Dairy Business and Strengthening Participation of Women and the Youth. Among the service delivery activities that MMPA facilitates is access to financial services through establishment of VSLAs and linkage of farmers to MFIs and Commercial banks.
ABOUT THE PROJECT: Upon finalisation of the grant process by the FARMSE PMU, MMPA is expected to implement the CBVCF project to reduce the proportion of the rural population without access to financial services, through formation of savings and loan groups and strengthening the existing CBFOs. The main objective of this project is to improve access to rural value chain financial services for 75,000 households through strengthening of the existing and building of new and innovative community based financial organizations by 2022.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES: 75,000 households will benefit through formation of 1,000 new CBFOs and strengthening of 2000 existing CBFOs.
PROJECT AREA: Mulanje, Dedza, Nkhotakota, Nkhatabay and Rumphi.
PROJECT PERIOD: 3 years (2020-2022)
KEY ACTIVITIES:
- Training in Savings and Loan Groups models and principles for MMPA and
collaborating Partners. - Conduct awareness meetings for District Councils and Area Development
Committees (ADCs). - Identify 200 existing Community Agents-CAs (Village Agents -VAs/Cluster
coordinators-CCs). - Establish and train 1,000 new CBFOs in group dynamics and governance.
- Conduct training in Principles of Savings, Loans and other financial services for
1,000 CBFOs. - Conduct MIS data collection, entry, analysis and interpretation training for staff.
- Conduct CBFOs capacity gap/training needs assessment.
- Conduct a training in Participatory Planning Implementation and Reviewing
(PPIR) for 300 Community agents. - Link the CBFOs to FSPs (MFI and commercial banks).
EXPECTED OUTCOMES:
- 2,000 existing and 1,000 new Community Based Financial Organizations
(CBFOs) have enhanced social-economical, technical and financial capacity to
access and utilize products for informal and formal financial markets. - The Producer groups, primary CBFOs and their individual members are
continually being linked to and utilizing the innovative products of the financial
markets (including second tier CBFOs, formal financial Institutions such as Micro-
Finance Institutions, Mobile Network operators and Commercial Banks), input
markets and produce markets. - Growth of equitable business ventures which allow women and youth to
increasingly access financial services in different value chains along their adult
male counterparts).
Project Partner: Opportunity International Malawi
5. Project Title: INCLUSIVE RURAL FINANCE AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS PROJECT (IRFSL)
PARTNER’S PROFILE : Opportunity International Malawi is an implementing member of Opportunity International Inc which operates in 22 countries. Opportunity International
started operating in Malawi in 2002 to provide access to finance to rural and financially excluded communities through Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM). Later,
in 2017, Opportunity International Malawi adopted an approach that would deepen its reach and impact in social and economic empowerment. Opportunity Malawi’s mission
is to empower people living in poverty to transform their lives, their children’s futures and their communities. Opportunity Malawi envisions a country in which people have the opportunity to achieve a life free from poverty, with dignity and purpose. Opportunity Malawi works with community-based groups providing them with empowering initiatives in agriculture, education, business and entrepreneurship (including women-in-business peer to peer mentoring model), training and access to finance.
ABOUT THE PROJECT: Opportunity International is expected to implement the Inclusive Rural Finance and Sustainable Livelihoods Project (IRFSL) upon finalisation of the grant process by the FARMSE PMU. The project aims to contribute to the elimination of ultra-poverty in Malawi through enhancement of social, environmental, technical and financial capacity of the existing and new CBFOs; establishment and strengthening of CBFO linkages to formal financial services; and expansion of economic opportunities to a through inclusive financial services.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES: 24,000 rural populations of which 5760 women and 640 youth, through formation of 400 new CBFOs and strengthening of 800 existing CBFOs.
PROJECT AREA: Machinga, Nkhatabay, Likoma, Rumphi and Nkhotakota.
PROJECT PERIOD: 3 years (2020-2023)
KEY ACTIVITIES:
- Form 400 new CBFOs and Identify 800 existing CBFOs.
- Identify and train 30 Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) through ToT.
- Conduct training in financial literacy for 1,200 (new and existing) CBFOs.
- Conduct sensitizations in life skills and environmental care to members of 1,200
CBFOs.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES:
- 400 New and 800 Existing CBFOs Have Strengthened Capacity for Improved
Access to and Utilization of Sustainable Financial Services and Products. - CBFOs and/or their members are increasingly linked to formal financial institutions,
and agricultural extension services. - Women and youth have increased and continuous access to financial services to
boost their economic opportunities.