MICRO-FINANCE
The project is primarily focused on formation of Community Based Organizations
(CBOs) at grassroots level. This project attempts to support the initiatives
of poor and vulnerable communities to construct small enterprises in an effort
to improve their present living conditions. Islamabad Rozgar Markaz (IRM), which
means Islamabad employment center, supports the eradication of the root causes
of unemployment. This project was developed by IRM to reduce unemployment in
villages and urban slums of Islamabad and Rawalpindi Districts through self-employment
by setting up a small enterprise development (SED) program through micro credits.
The goal of this project is to alleviate poverty through self-employment initiatives
by IRM in villages and urban slums of Islamabad and Rawalpindi Districts. IRM
is intended to increase women participation in economic activities.
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In support
of the project goal five main project objectives for the project have
been designed. The first objective focuses on strengthening existing CBOs
through micro-credits. Secondly, develop the capacity of the members of
CBOs by giving training on Entrepreneurship Development and Marketing.
Thirdly, create an environment of fair-trading by establishing linkages
between businessmen and producers. Fourthly, ensure 100% recovery of loans
to use for next cycle and sustainability of CBOs and IRM. Project intends
to initiate internal loaning within CBOs. Once the savings have been accrued
by the prospective loan clients in the CBO bank account, loans from the
CBO bank account will be provided to credit groups to support the micro-enterprise
initiatives. The completion of an Entrepreneurship Development Program
(EDP) given by IRM will be required to obtain micro-credit from the CBO
bank account. This project will help women to participant in economic
activities. The clients of this project would be women, people from low-income
class, small entrepreneurs, and unemployed.
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The
male-female disparity is generally striking in under-developed countries and
in Pakistan, the relative position falls further. These
gender difference are even larger in rural than urban areas, reflecting the
large difference in the rural urban gaps in income level, access to education,
health, and other economic and social infrastructure and services. However,
the rural women have major contribution in four sub-sectors of the rural economy.
These areas are cottage industry, household and family maintained activities,
crop production and live stock production. However, the extent of rural women
participation is not visible in most statistical accounts. It has been estimated
that between 20 and 33 percent of the average women 's day is devoted to livestock
related operation.
Every morning 500
million people around the world rise and go to work for themselves. An
overwhelming percentage of these workers are women. For them, self-employment
is the mainstay of their economic life. They harvest rice, craft pottery and
tools, weave cloth, and perform thousands of other tasks to support their families.
Most operate without financial resource-business loans or a safe place to hold
savings-and so cannot expand their work beyond the barest means of survival.
Usually, only a small amount of capital can produce growth. A modest loan or
financial support can yield enough to sustain an entire family.
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