Regional News of Saturday, 10 January 2004

Source: GNA

WEGFL organises durbar for its clients

Tema, Jan. 10, GNA- The Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Fund, (WEGFL) a micro Finance Institution with the aim of reducing poverty among women through loans, has organised a durbar to interact with its clients in Tema.

Mrs Esther Agbodo Nyamalor, Chief Executive of the Fund said the forum would enable the organisation to know some of the problems facing the clients and find solutions to them.

She said WEGFL is also there to assist women to be self-dependent and be able to support their family, adding "if a woman is not financially sound, she might find herself into something bad she intended not to do"

She said the institution since its inception about three years ago with loans of 200,000 cedis to women could now grant between four million to five million cedis as loans to women with three to four percent interest but stressed that it's only those in active businesses who are qualified to benefit from the facility.

She said besides the loans the institution also encourages its clients to do compulsory savings.

Mrs Nyamalor said the institution has so far got about 1,000 clients and hopes to hit about 20,000 soon and commended Prudential Bank for its support and assistance.

As part of the programme "Nyame ye odo" group, dealers in cloths at Ashaiman, was presented with a certificate as the best client while Madam Maku Anyeme received a cash of 100,000 cedis for being the best President among the groups.

Nine farmers were also presented with pumping machines worth 21 million cedis and 500,000 cedis each as working capitals to assist them in their rice and vegetable farming projects.