GiveWell 2009 Grant for Economic Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa: MFI Application Details

This application process is closed. Please contact us with any questions.

This page provides grant details for microfinance institutions applying to GiveWell's 2009 grant(s) for economic empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Before sending us your application, please review the background information for this grant. Please send all requested information and documents to povertygrant@givewell.net. Please include the name of your organization in the subject line.

Part I. Organization information

All emails should include:

  • Organization name
  • Organization employer identification number (EIN)
  • Organization website
  • Contact person
  • Contact email (Email will be our primary method of contact, so please provide an address where emails will be received and responded to)

Part II. Information about the products and services you offer

Please attach a document that summarizes the products and services you offer clients, including microfinance products (loans, savings, and insurance) as well as other products and services (education services, food aid, etc.). The document should be at as high a level of detail as you have available, regarding such particulars as:

  • Typical fees and/or interest rates for all products.
  • Rules, restrictions, and repayment schedules.
  • Typical sizes of loans, deposit accounts, grants, and/or insurance claims.

Part III. Information about clients and/or outcomes

Please attach any reports you have that are:

  • Impact studies: studies that show a systematic change in income/standard of living for clients (particularly relative to a control group), using information that is collected along the lines of a technical report on client income levels (see http://givewell.org/node/457).
  • Technical reports on client income levels: see our full definition of a technical report on client income levels: http://givewell.org/node/457
  • General information about the regions in which you operate, particularly relating to standard of living. We prefer technical rather than summary reports (i.e., all primary sources should be referenced if possible).
  • Any other grounds you have for believing that your clients have low incomes and/or standards of living.

Part IIII. Non-standard information on microfinance products

Please attach any additional documents that provide:

  • Information on client turnover, i.e., how many clients leave and newly enter the program (not simply changes in the total number of clients).
  • Information on the reasons for client turnover (i.e., why new clients enter the program and why existing clients leave)
  • Average original loan size (i.e., the size of the loan that was made, not simply the total outstanding loan balance divided by the number of borrowers)
  • Percentage of all loans that are repaid in full according to the terms of the loan (i.e., number of loans that have been paid in full on time divided by number of loans that are fully due - not loans written off divided by total loans outstanding)

Please let us know if and when you plan on applying and whether you have any questions or concerns. You can contact us and submit all materials by email to povertygrant@givewell.net.