Status update — June 30, 2023

Ghana Women Fund’s final loans with Kiva have been defaulted, and this partnership is now closed. For the last  4 years, Kiva has been working with Ghana Women Fund to recover the outstanding amounts due to Kiva lenders. Kiva’s present assessment is that this Lending Partner will not make further payments, and thus the remaining $9,021.70 in outstanding amounts due to Kiva lenders has been defaulted.

Ghana Women Fund (GWF) Ltd was established in 2001 to cater to women who ordinarily cannot access credit services from regular banks and financial institutions. In 2010, GWF launched a new credit program that offers water and sanitation loans to people in Ghana living in slums and informal settlements. The high density of unplanned houses in slum areas of Ghana makes it virtually impossible for the communities to have piped water connections or sanitary facilities. The only feasible solution for sustainable clean, safe and hygienic water and sanitation services in these slums has been through privately owned services charged at nominal fees. 

GWF’s water and sanitation loans are used to provide safe, clean and hygienic water and sanitation facilities that improve the health of the people living in these slum areas. Given the huge populations living in Ghana’s slums, the demand is very high for GWF’s loans.

A unique lending approach:

The target population for the water and sanitation loans is micro-entrepreneurs who live in the slums. GWF identifies and trains potential entrepreneurs who want to engage in water-related businesses such as water kiosks, bath services for public use and sachet water production. The loans offer micro-entrepreneurs an opportunity to improve their economic livelihood through increased income. While improving their own lives, the entrepreneurs also bring cleaner water to the slum communities in Ghana where they live.