This loan will be facilitated through Proximity's network of Village Lending Groups (VLG) to connect with rural farmers in Myanmar’s Delta and Dry Zone regions. Proximity works closely with the leaders of these village groups who assist the loan officers through the entire loan cycle, are borrowers themselves and act as a liaison between villagers and Proximity borrowers.
Since farming families often rely heavily on income from the harvest to support their livelihoods, this loan is structured with a single repayment at the end of the loan term. The timing aligns with the harvest season when borrowers have the ability to repay. All community members who receive financing through the VLG model must repay their portion of the loan before any group members will be eligible to receive new funding.
About Proximity Designs:
Proximity Finance is the financial services unit of Proximity Designs, a non-profit social enterprise, established in Myanmar in 2004 to provide affordable irrigation products to smallholder farmers. Proximity Finance was set up in 2012 to offer working capital microloans to help these farmers increase their productivity and income. There are around 12 million smallholder farmers in Myanmar, the majority of whom don't have access to sufficient affordable credit to meet their working capital needs. In the absence of other financing opportunities, most of these farmers are unable to purchase the optimal level of inputs to achieve sufficient crop yields. As a result, farm productivity in Myanmar is lower than in any other parts of Southeast Asia.
Kiva funding will be used to help Proximity Finance expand its agricultural microfinance operations to new territories, and over time to expand its range of innovative, affordable financial services tailored to the needs of rural people.
Proximity?s mantra is ?Innovation in Collaboration.? Join Proximity's lending team or view their website to learn more about their impactful work.
Adding to basket
