The Kingdom Community Fund (KCF) is a microfinance program founded by Pastor Genesis Tinshu in 2012. KCF is a subsidiary branch of HINT aimed at fulfilling its social mission to improve the economy and empower local business owners. However, KCF is individually registered and operates under its own management and budget.
We provide low-interest loans, savings schemes, and small business management training to especially poor men and women to be used for business expansion. We aim to help these entrepreneurs increase their purchasing power, grow their business, and therefore have a self-reliant and sustainable income for their families.
Microcredit is defined by the Grameen Bank as: “the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans.” Microcredit has proven to be an effective and popular measure in the ongoing struggle against poverty, enabling those without access to lending institutions to borrow and start small businesses. With our loans we provide training, on-going management assistance, and monitoring to ensure successful repayment and loan management.
The KCF pilot project was initiated in 2006. The project had a budget of CFA (XAF) 800,000 (US$ 1600) for a series of about 25 loans averaging CFA (XAF) 40,000. These loans were organised in two separate trust groups of business owners (called non-solidarity groups) who were responsible for repayment. Of these two non-solidarity groups, one group repaid 91% the total amount loaned while the other group repaid 89% of the total amount loaned. The interest rate, at 14.2%, was small in comparison to most microcredit programs. HINT uses the lowest feasible rates in order to ensure that the loans will be a means of investing in development rather than becoming a burden for those who receive the loans.
The results of this pilot project encouraged KCF to grow a larger microfinance project. By 2012, KCF had increased its total investment capital to CFA (XAF) 4 million thanks to donor support.
In 2015, KCF underwent an extensive restructuring of its microcredit program and also instituted a microsavings scheme for KCF members. Under KCF’s current structure, all KCF members are required to maintain savings with KCF. This encourages financial responsibility in a community that is not culturally accustomed to saving with a financial institution. New members are required to save regularly with KCF for three months before they may apply for a microcredit loan. The size of the loan for which members may apply corresponds with the amount of money that members have saved with KCF (as a means of collateral). Members are charged a 15% flat fee on each loan. The fee is used only to grow the fund, which is purely not-for-profit and relies on volunteer and donor support for its management. Members meet regularly with their non-solidarity groups and all KCF members meet once per month for business training and program feedback.
We currently support over 40 entrepreneurs and 6 non-solidarity groups, some of whom are on their third loan cycle. As of May 2015, we have over 15 new applicants to the program and 3 new non-solidarity groups.
To support these hard-working entrepreneurs, KCF is in need of donor support to increase its total investment capital. We invite you to join us in combating poverty through microfinance by donating today.
For more information, you may also visit our KCF website.