Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA) is launching a microfinance project in the GA West District of the Greater Accra Region introducing interest loans for poor women to start and to extend micro enterprises.
The project started with a pilot phase on a small scale at the end of 2009 with currently 28 women receiving micro credits. With additional funds, the program will launch the expansion phase and plans to reach 2,000 beneficiaries within the first 3 years and up to 5,000 beneficiaries by year 5 with an initial loan size of GHC 100. After the successful repayment within a four-month period, beneficiaries are able to receive an increased loan amount by GHC 100 for each round up to GHC 400. Additionally, about 10% of the beneficiaries will be able to receive a maximum of GHC 1.000 thereafter. In addition to the provision of loans, VPWA will support the beneficiaries with essential entrepreneurial business skills trainings.

 This new initiative is designed to create a credit scheme that will serve poor women in the GA West District. It aims to effectively give out loans to low-income women that make up 49.9% of GA West District. The main goals are to support economic participation of women, promote gender equality and improve economic welfare of the beneficiaries. Further, VPWA wants to establish a donation network of individuals, corporate, donor agencies as well as trust corporations.
VPWA is planning a total loan out of about GHC 88,000 in the first year of the project, GHC 528,000 in the second year and GHC 1,476,000 in the third year .
Therefore, VPWA aims to collect a start-up funding of GHC 50.000 in the first year and an additional funding of GHC 50.000 in the second and GHC 50.000 in the third year.

A Group Lending Methodology (GLM) will be applied for the operations, where a maximum of 4 beneficiaries will organize themselves into a „solidarity group“. They will then form a centre with a maximum of 5 groups where members guarantee for each other‘s loans (group guarantee scheme). Credit officers will support these groups and beneficiaries will receive business skills trainings at least 2 weeks before they get their first loans. The borrowers have to repay the loan within a four month period and start repayment on a weekly basis at a VPWA Micro Credit Center two weeks after they received the loan. They are able to receive a new credit only when the group fully paid back their outstanding loans. The selection of beneficiaries who are eligible for microfinance credits will be based on various economic and social criteria.