Comments on: What Do Toilets Have to Do With Microfinance? http://cfi-blog.org/2013/03/19/what-do-toilets-have-to-do-with-microfinance/ Sat, 26 Jul 2014 09:30:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: John Gitau http://cfi-blog.org/2013/03/19/what-do-toilets-have-to-do-with-microfinance/#comment-11089 Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:42:03 +0000 http://cfi-blog.org/?p=10510#comment-11089 Danielle, I find your post powerfully influential because it points to potentials within the microfinance field in improving well being across the board. Microfinance is no longer about small loans to start business. With an innovative concept such as Ikotoilet which has greatly improved access to sanitation in city centre and slum areas, it means there is a window through which MFI can sponsor ideas competition around social welfare needs and fund their implementation. One project can create several businesses that would require financing by the same institutions and the multiplier benefits are many. MFIs operating within low income residential areas can engage their customers to think of creative ideas to solve their problems. You never know how creative they can be until you challenge them around what they know. They know what they need but they may not know how to go about getting large scale solutions. Perhaps time to try bottom up innovations .Kudos to Acumen Fund for their support of Ecotact. Ikotoilet product is very inspiring in Nairobi. I am even thinking how how such high human traffic units that Ikotoilets are can be vehicles to deliver financial literacy messages.

Michael, if each MFI takes upon itself to support a product around human welfare, the results can be awesome because each area has clusters of sub-solutions of some needs. Who would have thought a toilet would be surrounded by multiple economic activities except David Kuria?. Hanging around a toilet was unheard of before in Kenya and may many Kurias be encouraged through similar supports..

]]> By: Michael Kihato http://cfi-blog.org/2013/03/19/what-do-toilets-have-to-do-with-microfinance/#comment-11087 Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:57:22 +0000 http://cfi-blog.org/?p=10510#comment-11087 Interesting article and sounds very much like a housing microfinance product (HMF). In HMF microfinance lending methodologies are used to incrementally improve housing conditions (water, sanitation, electricity, house build). Microfinance lenders, banks as well as housing NGOs are deliberately creating finance products that target this, precisely because there is a demand for such improvement loan. An interesting report on this State of Housing Microfinance in Africa http://tinyurl.com/bjsonc6

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