03aj-2509 - Starters subsidy for savings and credit institutions
Microfinance is a fast growing and dynamic part of Uganda's financial sector. It recognises the importance of the informal sector as a source of employment and income generation for the less advantaged members of the society and is thus a potential tool for poverty alleviation. This has led to a tremendous creation and growth of village savings and credit institutions in the Ankole regions, Mbarara, Bushenyi and Ntungamo. Presently there are here about sixty Micro Finance Institutions (MFI). These MFI's are member owned, member used and member controlled. The goals of the MFI's can generally be described as follows: "To transform the rural poor and liberate them from object poverty by creating an environment for increased savings and capital mobilization and efficient delivery and utilization of financial services". However the implementation has lacked effective methodologies, management capacity and coordination to sustain success. So these kinds of events have created the need to have a nearer body to coordinate the activities, to advise, organize trainings, monitoring and auditing the MFI's etc. That's why about 30 MFI's created a regional apex-body, called Ankore Micro Finance Institutions Association (AMFIA), that would be charged with the coordination of the microfinance activities of her members. AMFIA is now at September 3, 2003 legally registered. The contribution of Agriterra is ? 31,696.