Mano a Mano Cooperative
Mission: A cooperative body created with the purpose of being organized to be self-sustaining for the socio-economic development of all families, with solidity and trust for all our benefiting members.
Specialty: Lending to Women in Rural Areas
Organization Profile: Mano a Mano is located in the remote wet tropical town of Waslala. Roads to this area are so deteriorated that buses and trucks often receive severe damage from trips into the town. The isolation of the town has made it very hard to provide the poor in Waslala with a stable and secure banking system. In 1992, a revolving fund was founded to give money to poor local farmers who were unable to receive credit elsewhere. However, by 1996 the fund was in grave danger. The revolving fund lost $11,705 due to loan defaults and its monetary provider, the Swiss Workers Aid (SWA), threatened to withdraw all financial support. The Association of Mothers and Family Members of War Victims saved the revolving fund by taking over fund management, and transforming it, in 1997, into the Mano a Mano Community Bank. This small coalition of women was originally formed in 1995 to support the post war reconciliation process and encourage poor women and widows to actively participate in economic development. In 1997 they took on a new role, providing financial support to those in the Waslala community. Instead of loaning money to one individual as the revolving fund had done, Mano a Mano organized producers into solidarity groups. These groups, usually consisting of four to eight members, allow those who are extremely deprived of collateral to receive loans. The solidarity group vouches for its members, promising to help them repay the loan should the borrower experience a tough year. In addition to this group support, each individual receives over 40 hours of cooperative and credit training before entering the solidarity community, giving the borrower more than just money, but a comprehensive approach to financing. This approach has proven to be very successful.
WCCN Partner Since: 2008
Borrowers: Mano a Mano lends to 809 individual borrowers. Of these individuals, 74% are women and 26% are men (as of October 2007).
Lending Portfolio: Mano a Mano has an average loan size is $973, with a total lending portfolio of $786,925. It also has a well diversified lending portfolio with 44% of the portfolio allocated toward agriculture and livestock, 34% for housing, 20% for commerce, small enterprise, and industry, and 2% for services (as of October 2007).