UGAFODE Microfinance
Approved to post Kiva loans from: Uganda
Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.
Partner Description:
UGAFODE Microfinance Limited is a microfinance deposit taking institution regulated by the Bank of Uganda that provides a range of loan products -- with special focus on rural clients -- including business loans, group loans, micro-mortgage loans, agricultural loans and flexible housing loans. As of fall 2011, it had a loan portfolio of USD$2.9 million, nine branches, and about 5,300 active borrowers.
UGAFODE has a strong social focus, and tailors loan products to low-income and underserved clients. Four of its branches are located in rural areas 300 km from Kampala, and each branch works with clients within a 50 km radius. Funding from Kiva will allow UGAFODE to grow its innovative loan programs to better serve these individuals, like its agriculture and housing loans -- as well as green loans to help clients adopt sustainable business practices.
Based in Kampala, UGAFODE has strong governance structures in place, with an experienced executive team and board members with backgrounds in banking, accounting, microfinance and law. Accordingly, it has been able to attract stable sources of funding from organizations like Opportunity International, Oiko Credit, and Habitat for Humanity Uganda. The combination of seasoned leadership and solid funding has allowed the organization to post steady growth since its founding in 1994.
The partnership with Kiva will help UGAFODE make an even greater impact on the lives of underserved and underbanked clients in western and central Uganda.
A Note on UGAFODE's Portfolio Yield:
We care deeply about the cost that Kiva borrowers pay for their loans, which is why fair pricing is a core part of our initial due diligence process for Lending Partners. With Kiva's 0% capital, many of our Lending Partners are also able to add additional value to their loans by reducing interest rates, offering non-financial services or creating new loan products.
For partners with reported portfolio yields or average APRs higher than 50%, Kiva takes steps to check that the high rates are justified by the impact of the loans. Kiva also verifies that the partner is not generating unreasonable profits or paying inflated salaries, and that the partner’s elevated operating costs are justified by its operating environment and/or the design of its loan products.
We seek to support loans that don’t impose an unjustifiable cost burden on hardworking borrowers. We nevertheless recognize that in order to reach vulnerable and excluded people with high-impact products and services, some of our partners incur high costs that necessitate charging higher-than-average costs to borrowers in order to allow for sustainability and scale.
Factors that drive up the costs that this partner organization charges its borrowers include:
Partner Description:
UGAFODE Microfinance Limited is a microfinance deposit taking institution regulated by the Bank of Uganda that provides a range of loan products -- with special focus on rural clients -- including business loans, group loans, micro-mortgage loans, agricultural loans and flexible housing loans. As of fall 2011, it had a loan portfolio of USD$2.9 million, nine branches, and about 5,300 active borrowers.
UGAFODE has a strong social focus, and tailors loan products to low-income and underserved clients. Four of its branches are located in rural areas 300 km from Kampala, and each branch works with clients within a 50 km radius. Funding from Kiva will allow UGAFODE to grow its innovative loan programs to better serve these individuals, like its agriculture and housing loans -- as well as green loans to help clients adopt sustainable business practices.
Based in Kampala, UGAFODE has strong governance structures in place, with an experienced executive team and board members with backgrounds in banking, accounting, microfinance and law. Accordingly, it has been able to attract stable sources of funding from organizations like Opportunity International, Oiko Credit, and Habitat for Humanity Uganda. The combination of seasoned leadership and solid funding has allowed the organization to post steady growth since its founding in 1994.
The partnership with Kiva will help UGAFODE make an even greater impact on the lives of underserved and underbanked clients in western and central Uganda.
A Note on UGAFODE's Portfolio Yield:
We care deeply about the cost that Kiva borrowers pay for their loans, which is why fair pricing is a core part of our initial due diligence process for Lending Partners. With Kiva's 0% capital, many of our Lending Partners are also able to add additional value to their loans by reducing interest rates, offering non-financial services or creating new loan products.
For partners with reported portfolio yields or average APRs higher than 50%, Kiva takes steps to check that the high rates are justified by the impact of the loans. Kiva also verifies that the partner is not generating unreasonable profits or paying inflated salaries, and that the partner’s elevated operating costs are justified by its operating environment and/or the design of its loan products.
We seek to support loans that don’t impose an unjustifiable cost burden on hardworking borrowers. We nevertheless recognize that in order to reach vulnerable and excluded people with high-impact products and services, some of our partners incur high costs that necessitate charging higher-than-average costs to borrowers in order to allow for sustainability and scale.
Factors that drive up the costs that this partner organization charges its borrowers include:
- They provide more than just cash to many of their borrowers, including costly wraparound services such as healthcare, financial or business training, agricultural extension services, insurance or access to education.
- They work in areas with very poor infrastructure, such as limited roads. This increases the costs of finding clients and maintaining branch offices.
- They pay high interest rates on the loans they take from banks and other funders, given the market in which they operate. This means they need more support from innovative sources like Kiva to reduce costs and pass savings on to borrowers.
- They work extensively in rural areas, which requires their employees to engage in costly travel to find and serve their clients.
Repayment Performance on Kiva
| This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Start Date On Kiva | Apr 25, 2012 | Oct 12, 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Loans | $22,739,065 | $2,060,115,930 | |
| Amount of raised Inactive loans | $2,750 | $299,975 | |
| Number of raised Inactive loans | 3 | 329 | |
| Amount of Paying Back Loans | $3,040,330 | $151,125,520 | |
| Number of Paying Back Loans | 2,799 | 178,826 | |
| Amount of Ended Loans | $19,695,985 | $1,863,396,330 | |
| Number of Ended Loans | 23,884 | 2,516,664 | |
| Delinquency Rate | 5.93% | 11.66% | |
| Amount in Arrears | $109,245 | $10,619,673 | |
| Outstanding Portfolio | $1,631,013 | $91,107,381 | |
| Number of Loans Delinquent | 484 | 34,759 | |
| Default Rate | 1.41% | 1.83% | |
| Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted | $276,764 | $34,066,795 | |
| Number of Ended Loans Defaulted | 1,337 | 91,292 | |
| Currency Exchange Loss Rate | 0.19% | 0.47% | |
| Amount of Currency Exchange Loss | $193,975 | $12,915,654 | |
| Refund Rate | 0.36% | 0.55% | |
| Amount of Refunded Loans | $81,825 | $11,263,070 | |
| Number of Refunded Loans | 71 | 9,868 |
Loan Characteristics On Kiva
| This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Loans to Women Borrowers | 37.62% | 78.51% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Loan Size | $632 | $393 | |
| Average Individual Loan Size | $814 | $585 | |
| Average Group Loan Size | $1,458 | $1,913 | |
| Average number of borrowers per group | 6.7 | 8.3 | |
| Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country | $1,800 | $5,592 | |
| Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) | 35.13% | 7.03% | |
| Average Time to Fund a Loan | 17.23 days | 9.13 days | |
| Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan | $36.70 | $43.03 | |
| Average Loan Term | 11.24 months | 11.5 months |
Journaling Performance on Kiva
| This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Total Journals | 12,606 | 1,228,233 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journaling Rate | 49.80% | 41.93% | |
| Average Number of Comments Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.02 | |
| Average Number of Recommendations Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.55 |
Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2016 data)
| This Lending Partner | Median for MFI's in Country | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Average Cost to Borrower | 51% PY | 57.00% PY | 27.12% PY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability (return on assets) | 4.64% | 4.5% | -1.71% | |
| Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) | N/A | 61.00% | 0.00% |
Country Fast Facts
- Country:
- Uganda
- Capital:
- Kampala
- Official Language:
- English (official) Ganda,Luganda, other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
- Population:
- 35,918,915
- Avg Annual Income:
- $1,800
- Labor Force:
- agriculture: 82%, industry: 5%, services: 13%
- Population Below Poverty Line:
- 19.50%
- Literacy Rate:
- 78.40%
- Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000):
- 60.82 deaths
- Life Expectancy:
- 58.02 years
Lending Partner Staff
Sarah KambabaziViolet Nalikka
Shafi Nambobi