1. Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project
Rural Credit Scheme
Funded by the European Union

2. Business training session
Discussion
Purpose of the program
Key lessons learnt
What went well
What could have gone better
What we would do differently next time
Business training session
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

3. Purpose of Program Objectives:
Minimize the social impact of the declining sugar cane industry on households and communities
Establish sustainable and supplementary incomes
through access to a rural credit scheme, and
social support
Roadside billboard
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

4. New business: Car paint
Key Lessons Learnt
Need for basic technical training – overcome lack of business management knowledge amongst the target population
Value add rather than sale of primary product
Need for larger loans for existing clients
Important to work from the market to the product rather than from the product to the market; to ensure a secure market and sustainability
New business: Car paint
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

5. What Went Well
Though there were initial delays in project implementation, project targets have been met
829 clients from the Western and Northern divisions of the country accessed loans (target exceeded by 3.6%)
Cumulative Repayment Rate of 80% achieved as of 30 Nov, 2014
68 second loans were disbursed to clients that had successfully paid off their loans
Though not initially budgeted for a maximum amount of $5,000 was disbursed as second loans
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

6. What Went Well
Visibility/promotional items were distributed to clients, eg Record Books, Display Panels, Promotional T-Shirts and Caps
Clients were able to get a better understanding of starting and running a successful business through attending Entrepreneurship, Business Skills and Financial Literacy Training (facilitated in English, Fijian and Hindi)
Technical Trainings provided to clients through networking with industry stakeholders
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

7. New business: Fabric design
What Went Well
Strength based approach, we built on the existing capabilities of the farmers
Involvement of women; 25 % (206) of clients were women
Project specific MIS system designed
New business: Fabric design
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

8. What could have gone better
Lending procedures and policies should have been formulated and approved earlier on in the project enabling disbursement of loans to commence much sooner
Management Information System should have been designed and brought online during the inception stages of the project
Visibility and Communication Activities should have been budgeted for in the initial grant budget
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

9. What could have gone better
Disbursement of larger first loans
Use of payment M-Paisa, direct bank deposits to minimize operations costs
Joint applications for loans to promote gender equality and ownership
Lending to established groups and cooperatives to start up enterprises
Ongoing technical training provided to clients
New business: Honey bees
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

10. What we would do differently next time
Disbursement of loans into client bank accounts
Final approval of loans by loans committee
Budget for visibility and communication activities
Target further loans at existing clients
Budget for larger loans to be disbursed to established (successful) clients
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

11. What we would do differently next time
Encourage joint applications
Ongoing technical training provided to clients
Maximize use of the MIS system
Use of M-Paisa and direct bank deposits for repayments
Disbursement of loans to established cooperatives and groups
New business: Dairy
Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project

12. Questions & Comments? Funded by the European Union
Sugarcane Industry Supplementary Income Generation Opportunities Project