Description

In addition to operating a roadside restaurant where she prepares local foods, Sandra Ocran is the financial secretary for the Initiative Development Ghana, a local NGO partnering with the Ga East Trade Union to provide microloans to GETU members. Over the past five years, Betty has been involved in supporting 40 members to access microloans to build their businesses. "They are traders, some are bakerers, caterers, fish and tomato sellers, kenkey sellers and chopbars," she says, describing the types of vendors who are participating in the programme. "Everybody has been paying back their loans," she says. Not one person has defaulted so far. "We pay on a weekly basis. We come to the weekly meeting, and everybody must bring his or her money. Let's say you take [a loan in the amount of] 1,000 Ghana Cedis (approximately USD $262), every week you will repay 57 Ghana Cedis (about USD $15) for six months." With these small loans, vendors have been able to build capital and expand their businesses. FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: ACC023