Investours - May 14, 2011

Today we went to Investours in Mwenge. Investours is a non-profit organization that provides poor entrepreneurs with 100% interest free loans. Our group met with two different microentrepreneurs and got to sit down and ask them questions about their business and why they think they should receive an interest free loan. The cost of the tour gets pooled together to create a $200 loan for the microentrepreneur our group chooses should receive it. Once the microentrepreneurs pay off their loan, investours reinvests the money to other members of the community and then to cover administrative and operational costs. I really enjoyed Investours because I believe in what they are doing. They create change and help for those who need it most and although $200 may not seem like a lot, for the entrepreneurs that are receiving it, it could determine their livelihood. The poor and very poor lack access to traditional formal financial institutions therefore they are unable to receive the help they need, so Investours is one way to help. Investours is not only in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania but also in Peurto Vallarta, Mexico. Since the 1980’s Investours has continued to grow and expand indicating its success with helping those in poverty, creating relationships with their clients, and ensuring loans are paid off. The first microentrepreneur our group visited was a charcoal business run by three women and although it was evident they needed the money they didn’t have a clear direction or future set out for their business. The year before they had taken out a loan to sell food on the street and our group was unsure if the loan would be useful in sustaining the business. In addition, even though charcoal is a main source of fuel for cooking in Tanzania, with 85-90 percent of the total urban population of Tanzania using charcoal as their major source of domestic energy. Gas is a luxury for the well off and electric use is rare. Charcoal use has a devastating effect in developing countries due to the deforestation it creates. Although entrepreneurs of charcoal businesses are only trying to make a living selling a product that is widely used and needed in the country, it has negative effects for the environment. The initial output of money needed to invest in a gas burning stove is quite large which is a major setback and reason for why charcoal is so prominent, but if more people were able to afford the first major cost in purchasing a gas stove they would save money in the long run. With that being said, charcoal use will continue to be high in Tanzania unless there is some funding available for those to make an initial investment to buy gas burning stoves. These facts affected, but didn’t weigh heavily on our decision to choose the woodcarving business over the charcoal business. Our decision was based more on our beliefs of each entrepreneurs use of the loan money and the business plan they had in place, as well as their future plans. Tony from the woodcarver business seemed more likely to be able to pay off the loan in the future as well as a passion to work hard and keep his business standing. Also, Investours provides the business who didn’t get the loan with a workshop on how to improve their business and we felt that the women with the charcoal business could benefit from this more than Tony would. I would recommend Investours to anyone because it provides the opportunity to see first-hand the struggles that poor entrepreneurs face on a daily basis and generally it all comes down to money. After the tour we went shopping at some of the businesses that we visited and then went to the grocery store. The differences between the grocery stores here and at home were very evident today. Most of the fruits and vegetables weren’t fresh and there were a lot of canned and processed foods for purchase with limited healthy choices, such as whole wheat products. They also have security guards situated at the entrance and exit who stamp your receipt when you leave. After dinner we watched a short video about volunteering that was really interesting because it talked about how volunteering for a short period of time doesn’t really feel like you’re making a difference but its more for personal growth and gain, which a lot of us were feeling was the case. It’s hard and unrealistic to assume you will make a huge difference in such a short amount of time, but I believe we will all make little changes which will create opportunities for more change in the future. I know I will leave here with a relationship with Africa I never had before and a new desire to help the country and its people.

www.investours.org