At Juhudi Kilimo, we’ve recently undertaken the process of revising our mission to better describe what we do and also create a vision statement to drive our work. As an organization, we decided on these:
Our Mission To provide market driven, wealth-creating financial services that empower smallholder farmers and rural enterprises to create sustainable agri-businesses and improve their livelihoods.
Our Vision To reach 100,000 farmers by 2015 with superior financial services for agri-business.
Juhudi has already developed successful and targeted financial products for smallholder farmers, but our challenge is to expand to reach 100,000 farmers in the next four to five years. We began as a small pilot project in 2004. Today we are 45 staff (spread out across our head office and seven field offices) with just over 10,000 cumulative active borrowers. How do we now grow to meet our ambitious vision?
We’ve only just begun to reach our market
There is a much larger market that we’ve only just begun to tap into. Agriculture is the backbone of the Kenyan economy and accounts for 75% of the workforce. There are 2-3 million rural smallholder farmers in need of financial services in Kenya alone. Though we’re expanding in a measured and systematic manner, Juhudi is well poised to scale across East Africa.
Driven by new funding partners, including the Acumen Fund, Grameen Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation, Juhudi is deepening its presence. Within each of our existing loan groups and regions, there is enormous potential to grow organically based on current demand. Once we increase market depth in the Rift Valley, Central District, and Nyanza through 2012, Juhudi will be in position to open regional offices in the coastal areas of Kenya.
We’re going deep by leveraging technology
Very few commercial banks and microfinance institutions are operating in the deeper rural areas in Kenya where Juhudi Kilimo can best maneuver. Juhudi is broadening its client base in the rural areas by leveraging mobile technologies that allow our field staff to spend more time away from the offices and service the most interior parts of the country.
As we expand, we’re opening small satellite offices where loan officers can serve the most remote areas armed only with simple mobile tools. By offering mobile payments through M-PESA and using open-source technology like ODK-based forms and Simple MFI, developed originally at Juhudi, our staff can reach clients anywhere.
We’re developing new products to serve farmers
Beyond geographical growth, Juhudi is also expanding the range of assets we finance for greater reach and impact. Our high-yield dairy cow loan has helped over 3,500 farmers generate significant income through high returns. Financing for poultry and other livestock businesses have helped Juhudi and our members diversify and grow. Now we’ll add to our suite of products along these and other agricultural value chains.
By financing chilling plants and cold storage, we can provide our farmers with stable high-value markets for their produce. From chilling plants, our loan officers can work with farmers efficiently in a single location and coordinate other services. Financing for agricultural transportation allows buyers and sellers to be better connected. Our financing for high-value agricultural products, such as bee-hives, increases Kenya’s agricultural self-sufficiency and generates additional wealth. Our focus on green products, such as solar lanterns, helps Kenyan farmers save on the high cost of energy, reduces harmful effects, and even allows farmers to run productive enterprises through the evening hours.
As we grow, we remain committed to our social mission and maintaining the Juhudi Kilimo model of sustainably improving agricultural production and income.
No comments:
Post a Comment