PKSF

 MICROENTERPRISE (ME): Promoting entrepreneurs who create jobs for others

By the end of 2001, one of the major findings of PKSF from its operational field level experiences was the growth of the credit need of the beneficiaries, which accelerates over time. It has been evident that the microfinance borrowers do not remain always small. They graduate over time and some of them need larger amount of credit to expand their existing enterprises or to diversify them, otherwise their growth can be tapped in a stagnant condition. From this realization, PKSF started a programme titled Microenterprise (ME) programme with the aim to make larger amount of credit available to the progressive borrowers. Under this programme, POs of PKSF carefully select enterprising, able and proven microcredit borrowers. A borrower can now borrow up to BDT 10,00,000. There is a scope for lateral entry of any prospective micro-entrepreneurs to this programme. Lending to progressive borrowers not only creates a higher income opportunity for their individual development but also accelerates the wage employment opportunities for others, in particular for the ultra poor. ME programme finances both working capital and fixed capital, which expands the capacity of an enterprise. ME loan has an extended repayment period compared to the normal one-year repayment period. Weekly repayments are not always compulsory for ME borrowers. Under this programme, PKSF also provides assistance to identify the difficult links of the value chain development in order to establish market linkages both backward and forward for exploring sustainable and commercially feasible solutions in support of the sustainable microenterprises. In FY 2010-11, PKSF disbursed BDT 3.11 billion to its POs, which is 13.29% higher than that of the previous FY’s disbursement of BDT 2.74 billion. On the other hand, POs disbursed a total of BDT 22.69 billion to their beneficiaries, which is 73.42% higher than that of the previous FY’s disbursement of BDT 13.09 billion.