Additional Financial Assistance For People On DSS Benefits

If nobody is helping you during your unforeseen fiscal crunches, then you might think of taking the help of loans for people on DSS benefits which are designed especially for people on benefits provided by the department of social security.  These loans are free from the all types of complicated formalities that become obstacles in the path of the loan applicants who apply for these loans.  Applying online for these loans will allow you to have swift funds without any hassle to deal with unexpected economic problems. 

Never be disappointed if you are physically or mentally challenged and you have sudden economic problems, as loans for people on DSS benefits are a faultless and practicable solution against all types of financial hazards.  You can obtain the attractive loan money in accordance with your repayment capability and cash needs. 

Those people who are carrying the unwilling loads of being bad credit holders are also allowed to have these loans without any problem.  But, the interest rates for these fiscal supports are higher than conventional loans.  Late penalties and fines can easily be avoided with the timely loan settlement with interest charges.  Bad creditors can improve their credit standings with timely loan settlements.  These loans offer you small credit assistance up to 1500 ponds without any kind of collateral placement. 

These loans are free from the formalities of lengthy paperwork, credit checking and hassles of faxing.  You can get instant delivery of funds at your banking address through the online application procedure.  You only have to send your loan requirement details to the favored online lender to access the loan.

Why are some microfinance loans not so 'micro'?

When asked recently by a lender why many of the loans featured on the lendwithcare.org website were rather large (often around £1,000) we explained why that might be:


1. At lendwithcare we believe that supporting small to medium enterprises (SMEs) often generates waged employment opportunities for some of the very poorest segments of the population. The latter occasionally do not even qualify for a microloan in their own right. This strategy of supporting a range of businesses we believe is more effective in tackling poverty than simply supporting one type of business.

2. We very carefully select the microfinance institutions (MFIs) we partner with overseas and believe that all of our partners, in addition to providing important financial services to their clients, have a very strong social mission and therefore we aim to raise loan capital through lendwithcare to support a true representation of the businesses they support (which include slightly larger loans). By doing this we enable our partners to free up loan capital and concentrate on serving those in more remote, and often poorer, areas.

3. Smaller loans tend to get funded very quickly on the lendwithcare website and it is often the case that a small loan will be funded within a couple of hours, leaving the larger loans to become more visible on the website, like this loan from the Philippines for example http://www.lendwithcare.org/entrepreneurs/index/4361. In reality the average lendwithcare loan is still in fact 'micro' at £567.


 
The aim of microfinance is to provide basic financial services (be it loans, savings, insurance or money transfer facilities) to those that are typically socially and/or economically excluded from the formal financial sector. And it is true that microfinance clients are overwhelmingly poor and tend to live in developing countries. However they are by no means an homogenous group of people. And as such, the microfinance services they require are wide-ranging and diverse too.


If you would like to read more about the debate on supporting microbusinesses or SME's, please read the blog Ajaz, our Microfinance Advisor, wrote about this topic http://lendwithcare.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/microcredit-and-job-creation.html

 Nancy Thomas, Lendwithcare.org Executive

Youth, employment and micro-credit

Chakriya Yoeur from Cambodia

Hana Yousef, recent university graduate and CARE International UK Volunteer, discusses what microfinance could mean to the rising number of unemployed young people in developing countries ...


Historically, micro-finance has never been something typically associated with youth. It seems as though the general pre-conception of young people moving around and being less likely to ‘stay put’ make them less desirable recipients of a micro-credit loan. 


However, things are forever changing in the micro-finance sector, and maybe it has become time for young people to become micro-finance institutions' new generation of clients!

In the same way that the younger generation may not be at the top of the micro-finance Institutions’ loan distribution list, micro-finance is not the generic ‘go-to’ for the entrepreneurial youth of today.

Having recently graduated myself, I blame my previous ignorance to micro-finance not only on a lack of awareness, but also on an irrational fear of the word itself; Micro-finance immediately conjured up notions of complex mathematical equations in my mind.  I learned recently that some micro-finance institutions provide financial services for low income clients.  So,  I strongly believe that having access to micro-credits is something that could be of huge benefit to both the youth and MFIs.

Youths suffer considerably with unemployment in many countries around the world. I imagine there are several young people today with exciting and innovative business ideas and even business plans in areas from agriculture to tailoring facing the daunting question of: “how will I kick-start this business plan?” This question is even more poignant for youths in developing countries, and the difficulty in having access to banks in rural areas can be enough to deter them from fulfilling their dream or at least giving it a go. 

 But this shouldn’t be the end to these entrepreneurial endeavours. I understand that raised awareness about micro-finance alone will not immediately result in thousands of young, fresh and innovative new businesses – but it is a start. By highlighting micro-credits as an option to youths around the world, be it through lectures or informal meetings, we are already one step in the right direction, and young people will have more opportunities to follow their dreams!

Following my donations

Jun Pérez, President of SEED Finance and Amy Lithgoe

It’s not often you get to know how the money you donate to charity is actually spent but today I was able to meet Jun Perez, President of SEED Finance, the Filipino partner of lendwithcare.org.  I’ve always thought the whole concept of lendwithcare.org is fantastic and was keen to find out more about how the scheme actually operates on the ground.

I didn’t think when I emailed the general email address that they’d actually be able to arrange the visit, but within a couple of days they’d put me in touch with Jun. It’s always a concern that when you learn more about an organisation you find out about the issues and problems but nothing was further from the truth with SEED Finance. At the risk that I’m beginning to sound like this is written by their PR company I can assure you that I’m fairly cynical generally and have this week been accused of cross examining the Chairmen of the Quezon City Red Cross in a manner that was apparently more like an interrogation than a Q&A session.

So, at the SEED offices we were shown to the small meeting room and given a history of their involvement with CARE International. Jun was friendly, well informed and enthusiastic as well as keen to talk about their work. Photos on the wall have the caption ‘Micro no more’ underneath and a map has pins showing their coverage of the country.

For anyone else who lends with lendwithcare.org I can assure you from what I’ve heard that your money is being well spent. The individuals we see on the website are all members of co-operatives in the provinces and this is how their loans are administered. Jun made it clear that their loans were not the cheapest in the market but that they offer an extensive support service that extends beyond the loans themselves. This includes technical assistance and training so not only are the loans protected but a sustainable business is created. It seems like these measures are helping contribute to their 97% overall repayment rate, up 57%.

Loans are targeted in the most deprived regions and in places where mainstream banking is difficult to access. Practicalities such as having to get a boat to another island can mean entrepreneurs have to take time away from their business to carry out simple administrative tasks. Mobile banking has been utilised incredibly effectively to address this issue and people can now order supplies, pay utility bills and send money to kids overseas all through their mobile phone and the co-op money card. This is backed by Mastercard and linked to their phone account.

Having introduced this scheme in a fishing village a complaint was made by an entrepreneur that he was unable to access his money one weekend when the cash desk was closed and the ATM wasn’t working. SEED and the co-operative decided to address this by installing mobile card swipe machines in small businesses on the island. This meant there was no need for people to withdraw cash in order to buy materials for their business. Simple solutions like this and utilising the latest technology are great for making the lives of the beneficiaries easier and allowing them to maximise productivity.

Another example of this is how it allows the organisation itself to work more efficiently. At a conference a request was made for funds for a co-op to Jun. He text someone in the office, they made the necessary approvals and the money was available in around 2 hours.

The governance of the organisation reflects the client focus and on the Executive Committee two out of the five members represent clients. There is regular dialogue with area, regional and national conferences to share ideas and best practice.

One of the clever engagement tools used by lendwithcare.org  is the updates from the entrepreneurs. Being of a sceptical nature I’m not sure I quite believed before that these were so accurate as to be about your money. Having heard about their systems and the fact that each beneficiary is visited monthly I’ll now be much more interested in these updates.

Currently only 5% of their income is from individuals with the majority of investment coming from companies. I know after visiting SEED I’ll be happy to put more money in and be confident it’s being well spent.

By Amy Lythgoe

(Posted originally in the author’s blog on 11.04.2013)

Living Below the Line | A photo diary

£1 for 5 days for all food and drink - could you?

For the past 3 days, 1000's of Britons have taken on the challenge to live on £1 a day for all food and drink in an attempt to deepen and widen understanding of the challenges and difficult choices faced by those living in extreme poverty.

We have been taking part in the challenge here at lendwithcare.org and as we enter into DAY FOUR I wanted to share a few of my (picture) thoughts from the challenge so far

This week I have learnt that living within an extremely tight budget means …

1. Food can get a little repetitive
 

Breakfast & lunch day 1 & 2

2. Food on the go requires extra planning & thought (and the will power to avoid the numerous shops vying for our attention to eat & spend) 

Home made sourdough bread for breakfast at Euston station

3. General convenience & consumerist habits must be waved goodbye

4. Access to free, accessible and clean water is a huge advantage

5. You can eat reasonably well if you are clever about where and what time (the end of the day is always a good time to get your hands on cheap deals) you buy your food

Guy's veg box from Ridley Road market in Hackney

6. You can do a lot with beans and rice (unsurprisingly the staple foods for millions of poor people around the world) 

Bean chili as recommended in the Live Below the Line recipe pack

However, I guess the biggest lesson I have learnt this week (apart from being starkly reminded of how far removed I (and so many of us) have become from the value & source of our food) is how incredibly resourceful and determined the millions of poor people around the world are. As a friend and fellow Live Below the Linerbeautifully summed up:

 

"As I did it for solidarity with the world's poor, I'm pleased I did it this way [sourcing out lots of different ways to purchase cheap but good produce, experimenting with different recipes etc] because what strikes me about most of the poor I have met is their initiative and resolve. I really didn't want to suffer for them or feed the victim culture that can demean them.  The evil is the grotesque inequality in income and in opportunity, particularly so for women - things I am so very pleased you and your colleagues are addressing the way you are.  So the challenge was for me more an inspiration from and tribute to them than something to make me despair.

I think there may be some sense in people trying to make the challenge a wonder and a tribute to the poor." - Guy 

At lendwithcare.org we believe that people living in poverty don’t always want a hand-out but instead desire the opportunity to help themselves out of poverty – with dignity. To help us turn this desire into a reality,please consider donating to our Live Below the Line Challenge here or becoming a lendwithcare lender yourself here.

By Nancy Thomas, Lendwithcare.org Executive