Microfinance
e3 Sudan Microfinance is now Seed Effect...
Seed Effect is a microfinance initiative, powered by e3 partners, that plants the seeds that overcome physical and spiritual poverty in marginalized communities around the world. Operating as a credit with education microfinance initiative, Seed Effect serves the poor by issuing seed loans to struggling entrepreneurs to be invested in their business while providing access to educational opportunities both through our program and a partnership with the local church.
Seed Effect is currently launching it’s first site in Kajo Keji, South Sudan. To learn more about Seed Effect, check out our Seed Effect Blog.
What is Microfinance?
Microfinance enables the poor to break the cycle of poverty by providing collateral-free loans, other financial services to support income-generating businesses. With repayment of each loan, the money is redistributed as loans to others, thereby multiplying its impact. In addition, it can be used as a platform for non-financial services known as “Microcredit Plus Services”. In the industry, Microfinance combined with these “Microdredit Plus Services” is known as “Credit with Education”.
Why Sudan?
The southern Sudanese have experienced devastating hardships. There have been 2 racially motivated civil wars that resulted in one of the longest lasting and deadliest conflicts of the later 20th century. About 2.2 million civilians were killed in southern Sudan, and another 4 million more were forced to flee their homes at one time or another since the war began. The civilian death toll is one of the highest of any war since World War II. The conflict, which kept most mission and humanitarian agencies out of the area for decades, officially ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January 2005 that created a semi-autonomous Southern government.
Since the signing of the peace agreement, churches and Christian organizations have begun to reach the people, but there are still many unreached people groups. In addition, there is little to no infrastructure, no state sponsored formal education, and limited access to basic health care services. Some international humanitarian organizations actually refer to the south as a “lost generation”. Due to the war, literacy rates in Southern Sudan are about 24%; 37% for males and 12% for females.
With the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), God has granted a window of opportunity to spread the Gospel message and begin development though all of southern Sudan, but the time may be limited. The Peace Accords expire in 2011, and the future of southern Sudan is uncertain.
Contact Team Seed Effect
Missy Williams, Executive Director of Seed Effect/ Co-Founder
David Williams, Co-Founder
Heather Sumner, Program Development Supervisor
First team meeting- September 2008
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