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As regular readers of our news pages will remember, in July our UN Representative in Rome coordinated a side event for civil society organisations on the theme of rural women. As part of the speakers, past SI president, Marie-Jeanne Bosia, spoke on "women and microcredit - a life changing opportunity". Here she reports back.

 When first asked by Cinzia Palmi, SI Representative to Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, to address one of the two side events at the 37th FAO Conference in Rome as a main speaker, I momentarily hesitated. The theme of this special event was "Women in agriculture: microcredit, land tenure, cooperation". Aware that the audience would include not only representatives from international women's networks, INGOs and Ambassadors from countries facing critical to even abject poverty, I asked myself if I could indeed capture their attention by speaking of poverty issues and the effects of microcredit in a country such as Switzerland. However, I came to the conclusion that as Soroptimists we are dedicated to the welfare and improvement of women wherever they are and in whatever environment they may live. Furthermore, I believe that the Soroptimist organisation responds wholeheartedly to many, if not all, of the eight objectives of the FAO Millenium Development Goals and consequently has the right and the authority to be actively present at an FAO forum. I am now happy to have accepted the challenge as my exposé was most positively well received and the moderator Mr. Thomas Price, chief of the Partnerships with Civil Society and Private Sector Branch Office, personally came to congratulate me at the end of the session.

To begin with, I acknowledged the fact that Switzerland most assuredly did not come under the category of least developed countries with special needs but that it was necessary to face the fact that poverty existed just as much in highly developed countries and where poverty issues, with all their inherent repercussions, needed to be addressed. With this in mind, the Swiss Union of SI set up a microcredit project in partnership with the Swiss Association MSS "Microcredit Solidarity Switzerland" so as to help women who, because of their impoverished status, were unable to meet with the loan requirements of banks or lending institutions.

 

Generally speaking, women have far more difficulty in accessing credit without substantial guarantees and yet they are the ones who are more concerned about the welfare and well-being of their families. Consequently, giving such women the possibility to start their own modest businesses is a manna that can change their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

With its 58 clubs and dedicated members, the Swiss Union of Soroptimist International of Europe, in partnership with MSS, undertook the mission of promoting and supporting the autonomy of women in the business world, albeit in small scale/small size businesses that can nonetheless successfully generate income and thus provide welfare and well-being to themselves and to their families.

Microcredit is recognised today throughout the world as a means of fighting poverty, reducing unemployment, providing jobs for the jobless, but the criteria and means have had to be changed from one country to another by identifying and clearly defining the basic requirements in that particular environment. The formula undoubtedly became more complex and inevitably more sophisticated than what was originally applied and the by now well-known 3Cs of credit came to the fore "Character - Capacity - Capital".

MSS and the Swiss Union of SI have worked out a specific programme to which applicants must respond evidencing primarily the 3Cs. A second stage is that of  analysing the viability of their project and the potential of their success while considering their situation within society and how, should they obtain a microcredit, this would evolve into a long-term business that would indeed secure employment for them and for others. Candidates are offered assistance to fill in their application and have interviews with qualified staff and expert analysts who will follow them through the entire procedure and, if they are accepted, assist them in setting up and implementing their project. Of course, securing the repayment of the credit is undoubtedly a formidable factor in the decision-making process. The procedure is more often than not a lengthy one but, for those who finally achieve their goal, the satisfaction of success goes well beyond just one individual: it has an impact in society itself and sends out a message to all women who have the aspiration, the determination, the perseverance and the ambition to change their lives for the better.

MSS credits may vary from Swiss Francs 2'000 to a maximum of 30'000, offered to women who cannot, under normal banking practices, obtain a loan for setting-up their own business and who, even if they were able to secure such a loan, would not have had the expertise and know-how of qualified persons to help them achieve their goal.

Before concluding, I presented the portraits of two successful microcredit beneficiaries, one a wine-grower and the other a florist who, through strong female perseverance, determination and will have changed their lives and the lives of others.