Forba John Nde

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Forba John Nde by GHAPE in Cameroon. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 24 months, GHAPE will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

I am writing to you with an update on the loan you made to Forba John Nde in Cameroon.

My name is Yuan – I’m from the UK - and I am privileged to be the Kiva Fellow working with microfinance NGO GHAPE based in Cameroon’s North West Province.

When I met Forba John last week he proudly recounted that he has been a borrower with GHAPE in Cameroon for nearly ten years, since the organisation’s very first days. He is their 38th borrower and his village’s centre was the first to be set up by GHAPE in 1998.

Each month borrowers gather in their communities to make loan repayments and any savings they can afford. They also share their business knowledge and tips to increase farm productivity.

Forba John’s first loan was for 15,000 CFA Francs (US$ 38) which he used on his mixed farm, where he grows cassava and raises pigs and chickens. Over the years he has invested the loans to expand his businesses and increase his income. GHAPE has a policy of increasing loan size only when borrowers have shown they are responsible. As a long-standing member with an excellent repayment record, Forba John’s current loan is for 495,000 CFA Francs (US$ 1,200), which he has borrowed over 24 months. He has invested the money in a motorbike which he rents to a driver on a weekly basis. In this part of Cameroon bikes are a good way of moving goods and people to and from the town, as the roads become impassable to bigger vehicles after rainfall. He says the business is going well.

He has five children ranging in age from 12 to 20; three of them are in school, one is now married and one is working.

He says his life is much improved as a result of the loans he has received. The profit has helped him pay his children’s school fees as well as buying a nice television set.

When this loan is completed he hopes to borrow money to buy a car which he will again be able to rent out to a driver.