Esperance Mukarugamba

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Esperance Mukarugamba by Vision Finance Company s.a. (VFC), a partner of World Vision International in Rwanda. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 8 months of this loan, Vision Finance Company s.a. (VFC), a partner of World Vision International will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Greetings Kiva lenders!

My name is Laura Buhler and I am the current Kiva Fellow on location at Vision Finance Company (VFC) in Kigali, Rwanda. I am writing you to thank you for your contribution to the development of Rwanda through your loans to Rwandan entrepreneurs.

VFC has been a Kiva Partner in Rwanda for 14 months and serviced 259 Kiva borrowers. To date, you have financed loans for these clients totalling $204,525. VFC places a heavy emphasis on empowering women by making 70% of the loans to women. The institution also focuses heavily on rural and agricultural clients to give these communities a leg up in an ever industrializing country.

On July 4, 2009, Rwanda celebrated its fifteenth anniversary of liberation from the gruesome civil war and the horrific genocide that followed. Unlike many of its African counterparts, the ruling party that took over (the Rwanda Patriotic Front) put the people first. The subsequent milestones Rwanda has made in the aftermath of its terrible history are nothing short of miraculous. The combination of strict development goals, a focus on health and education, and good governance has attracted much foreign investment and tourism to Rwanda. The country is now regarded as one of the safest countries in the world.

This is not to say that Rwanda is without problems. Aside from the pain lingering in the country after 1994, the country experiences some of the same development challenges as its neighbours. With over 10 million inhabitants, Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa. This has created massive environmental dangers in the country, resulting in overpopulation, depletion of resources, soil erosion, and degradation of the quality of crops. Due to the huge number of foreign visitors from East Africa and the rest of the world, Rwandans in Kigali have seen prices drastically rise at the markets. This is putting further strain on the livelihoods of VFC’s Kigali clients.

The good news is that the country has increased its UN Development Index rating in the recent year from 161/177 to 165/177 and one can only assume that the trend will continue judging by the bustling and ever-changing atmosphere in Kigali, the capital city. Entrepreneurship is a national initiative and new buildings, restaurants, hotels, and programs are constantly popping up around the country. It is a very exciting place to be!

I have been at VFC for almost ten weeks. In this time, I have been fortunate enough to witness the impact of your loans first hand. The poor will not be left behind in the powerful wave of development that is sweeping across Rwanda. Particularly in the poorer, rural communities of Rwanda, I have received resounding feedback that the small Kiva loans have changed the lives of our borrowers.

The most encouraging thing about the microfinance operation here in Rwanda is that it continues to work long after the loan term has ended. Coincidentally, I had the opportunity to meet a client who had repaid his loan about eight months ago. At that time, he was interviewed by the previous Kiva Fellow, Julie Ross. His business and life had been transformed by having the access to capital. I asked him if in the last eight months there had been any other changes in his family’s situation. “What else has changed?” I asked. He started pointing around him, “that is new, that is new, our clothes are new, I have a new cow, all of that stock is new… everything, everything has changed.” This client had even started another business and purchased yet another cow and sheep. He also added that he is able to afford to put all nine of his children through secondary school! According to his testimony, his two eldest daughters are waiting to see if they will be accepted at university. In short, your loans are making a difference in Rwanda and will continue to do so long after you are reimbursed.

I have mentioned how amazing the degree of stability, peace, and hope is in Rwanda. These are aims that every developing country pushes for, let alone one that experienced some of the most horrific events in modern history. I believe that microfinance has played a part in making this possible, and that you as lenders have played a part in making peace possible here.

Microfinance is one of a multitude of efforts in Rwanda that has enabled the country to reach its current state. When VFC was founded (just 5 years after the genocide), its founders saw that if just one area of stress— that of the family business— is eased through access to capital, savings programs, and insurance, there just may be less anxiety in the other areas of life. Its founders saw that, even so soon after the genocide, financial security and economic empowerment often bring a safer and more stable community.

It is clear that microfinance’s contribution has brought more than just alleviation of poverty. Partnered with good-governance and foreign aid, perhaps by taking away the single anxiety of financial uncertainty, microfinance has helped make stability and peace possible.

Kiva and VFC are so thankful for your decision to participate in the great initiative that is micro-lending. You have helped bring hope to small-business owners, and peace to communities. Please continue to lend!

Sincerely,

Laura Buhler

Kiva Fellow

To make a loan to an entrepreneur in Rwanda, follow this link: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=117&status=All&sortBy=New+to+Old

To join our Vision Finance Company lending team, click here: http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=5273