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.