EDUCATION AND EMPOWERMENT
Chelma Advisory Institute equips
women with more than just credit. It also arms them with the business
know-how and skills they need to thrive as entrepreneurs.
The Chelma Advisory Institute clients are resourceful, hard working, and even tenacious. They need to be, as their day-to-day survival - and that of their children - depends on it.
What they lack is business training. From day one, The Chelma Advisory Institute teaches women the fundamentals of running a small business, furnishing them with the skills they need to plan and grow their enterprise.
Before extending a loan, The Chelma Advisory Institute shows women how to develop a simple business plan, a tool to help them make the best use of credit.
After getting a loan, clients meet periodically with members of their solidarity group to make loan payments. The Chelma Advisory Institute uses these meetings and other workshops to teach women business skills. Women learn, among other things, about setting the price of goods to be sold, how to monitor income and expenses, and how to assess and navigate the competition.
In fact, women take part in business trainings throughout the life of their loans, learning all the different aspects of running a successful business.
Along the way women gain confidence in themselves as they apply the skills to their business. They also draw advice, support, and encouragement from other loan officers and other women in their solidarity groups.
The Chelma Advisory Institute business training is all about helping women to believe in themselves and reach their full potential as entrepreneurs.
For The Chelma Advisory Institute, the empowerment of women is key to ending poverty and creating more just societies. Chelma encourages women to develop their full potential, claim their basic human rights, and access services and resources in their communities.
While most micro finance institutions focus only on financial services, Chelma uses a holistic approach, making sure that clients are better prepared physically, emotionally and economically to improve their lives and that of their children.
Education is one strategy. Chelma teaches women about domestic violence, communication skills, and women’s rights, using workshops and group discussions to raise their awareness about leadership, gender issues, and self-esteem. It also links clients with other organizations for counseling, legal assistance, and education and vocational training programs.
Women also become empowered as they join and become active in their communal associations. Chelma organizes women in groups of 18 to 28 clients and teaches them how to organize and manage a community bank. The women elect a board of directors to run the meetings, form a credit committee to approve loan applications, and create solidarity groups to guarantee each other’s loans.
Members of the communal banks gain confidence and self-esteem as they successfully borrow and repay their loans, set up savings accounts, and become more aware of their own potential and abilities. What’s more, they apply their new skills as leaders in other community organizations.
The Chelma Advisory Institute clients are resourceful, hard working, and even tenacious. They need to be, as their day-to-day survival - and that of their children - depends on it.
What they lack is business training. From day one, The Chelma Advisory Institute teaches women the fundamentals of running a small business, furnishing them with the skills they need to plan and grow their enterprise.
Before extending a loan, The Chelma Advisory Institute shows women how to develop a simple business plan, a tool to help them make the best use of credit.
After getting a loan, clients meet periodically with members of their solidarity group to make loan payments. The Chelma Advisory Institute uses these meetings and other workshops to teach women business skills. Women learn, among other things, about setting the price of goods to be sold, how to monitor income and expenses, and how to assess and navigate the competition.
In fact, women take part in business trainings throughout the life of their loans, learning all the different aspects of running a successful business.
Along the way women gain confidence in themselves as they apply the skills to their business. They also draw advice, support, and encouragement from other loan officers and other women in their solidarity groups.
The Chelma Advisory Institute business training is all about helping women to believe in themselves and reach their full potential as entrepreneurs.
For The Chelma Advisory Institute, the empowerment of women is key to ending poverty and creating more just societies. Chelma encourages women to develop their full potential, claim their basic human rights, and access services and resources in their communities.
While most micro finance institutions focus only on financial services, Chelma uses a holistic approach, making sure that clients are better prepared physically, emotionally and economically to improve their lives and that of their children.
Education is one strategy. Chelma teaches women about domestic violence, communication skills, and women’s rights, using workshops and group discussions to raise their awareness about leadership, gender issues, and self-esteem. It also links clients with other organizations for counseling, legal assistance, and education and vocational training programs.
Women also become empowered as they join and become active in their communal associations. Chelma organizes women in groups of 18 to 28 clients and teaches them how to organize and manage a community bank. The women elect a board of directors to run the meetings, form a credit committee to approve loan applications, and create solidarity groups to guarantee each other’s loans.
Members of the communal banks gain confidence and self-esteem as they successfully borrow and repay their loans, set up savings accounts, and become more aware of their own potential and abilities. What’s more, they apply their new skills as leaders in other community organizations.