Savings and Credit Schemes in East and Southern Africa

The Kinondoni District Credit Scheme in Tanzania is operated by the Presidential Trust Fund for Self Reliance(PTF)and promotes grassroots economic development through the providing of credit, training and consultancy to poor people trying to establish income generating projects.

The target group is widely defined as unemployed women and youth either in groups or individually.

More specifically the group includes unemployed women in squatter areas, women involved in petty trade activities, women and youth who are unable to meet bank collateral requirements for loans,needy rural women identified by housing standards and lifestyles and youth school leavers who have acquired some technical skills and are unemployed or are unskilled and unemployed.

Credit is given only for production-oriented projects such as farming, animal husbandry and fishing done on a small scale and the target group must access feasible projects in order to apply for loans.

District Planning Officers of the PTF who coordinate PTF activities in their allotted districts identify prospective loanees. The prospective loanees are picked from populations that fit the descriptions of the target group specifications.

Upon the target group being identified and prior to disbursing loans, potential loanees, who are either semi or completely illiterate are given a comprehensive training on the basics of project management, simple book-keeping, inventory management, the production processes and sales management.

This training is considered fundamental for the income generating projects to work effectively. The training continues during the loan and even after the loan repayment period.

Funds are disbursed directly to the loanees by PTF officers. The monitoring and supervision of the loanee’s project and the collecting of repayments is done by the Planning Officers together with Project Officers appointed by the PTF.

PTF further provides loanees a consultancy service on project management which helps sustain the success of the project.