Nissi Global avails loan fund for women in business

In an interview, the institution’s public relations manager, Mrs Lorrain Maphala-Phiri, said the fund, which is called Women’s Paratz, targeted female entrepreneurs who were seeking to grow their businesses.

“This is a new project that we have come up with targeting to assist underprivileged societies who in most cases have not been able to secure loans from financial institutions such as banks.

“We are not targeting up class businesses but our focus is on women entrepreneurs in all sectors of the economy including those in airtime vending,” she said.

Of late, some entrepreneurs have not been able to secure loans from banking institutions due to stringent requirement such as business plans.

She said Paratz was a Hebrew word that means breakthrough adding that through the scheme Nissi Global was trying to loosen the stringent requirements most financiers demanded upfront before the loan was advanced.

“For example, instead of demanding a business plan from the prospective women entrepreneurs, they will be required to bring an outlay of their business explaining how they are going to make money out of it,” she said.

Under the loan fund, the entrepreneurs can access the loans that range from a minimum of $500 while  the maximum loan the entrepreneurs could secure        was dependent on the collateral the businesswomen bring.

The rate of interest under this facility is 10 percent per month.

“Our interest rate is 10 percent per month. Any loan below $1 000 will be payable over a 30-day period and any amount ranging between $1 000 and above is payable over three months,” said Mrs Maphala-Phiri.

She said her organisation had been inspired by some hard working women entrepreneurs whose business had the potential to grow given substantive financial support.

At the moment, she said the project would be accessible to Bulawayo entrepreneurs before it is taken to other parts of the country.

Nissi Global was established in the mid 1990s.

Before the economic meltdown, that affected the country over the past decade, Nissi Global had established more than 20 branches countrywide.

Since the adoption of a multi-currency system in February 2009, the money-lending institution is on a rebound having so far established close to 10 branches in the country.