Vina Vo made new friends in the Ghanaian village of Ekomfi Ekotsi.
Earl Woods Scholar Vina Vo went to Ghana over winter break for a micro-finance project with the Global Business Brigades (an organization at USC). She said she had an amazing experience that was both inspirational and life-changing. Below is an email description we received from her of what the program entailed.
Our organization helped a small village of about 900 people called Ekomfi Ekotsi. We worked on their Community Development Bank, which serves as a place for their villagers to deposit and withdraw money. The village wanted to create a savings culture and enlisted our help. Another function of the bank is that it offers loans for its citizens. For example, a farmer can submit a loan application to buy more seeds for harvest to gain a greater profit margin.
Our organization worked on three aspects of the bank:
- Loans: We trained the bank leaders to be more comfortable giving loans and also made the process more simple and intuitive for them. We also taught the villagers how to apply for loans and what makes a good loan application.
- Shareholder Model: We opened up the bank and sold shares of it to the villagers. We did this so the bank can build capital to give out loans without dipping into people's savings. Our organization matched the money that was put in.
- Compensation: The bank leaders are volunteers, so we worked on a model to see that they get compensation at the end of the year.