Women’s Finance House Botswana, otherwise known as Thusang Basadi, has funded close to 3 800 women to start businesses.

Speaking in an interview, assistant programme manager, Ms Matshidiso Tshukudu explained that Thusang Basadi’s core mandate included poverty alleviation, women economic empowerment and financial inclusion.

Ms Tshukudu explained that Women’s Finance House Botswana was a non-governmental organisation incorporated in 1989, and that it traded as Thusang Basadi, adding that the organisation helped women only aged between 18-65 years.

She said for women to be legible for the loan they must have been operating a business for a minimum of six months, and have a monthly turnover of up to P1 000 as well as being a regular saver at Thusang Basadi and attending meetings regularly.

“Thusang Basadi targets women who are sidelined by the mainstream financial sector, referred to as unbankable. These women are engaged in productive activities and are challenged in many ways.

“We are trying to open up access through a holistic approach to meet their needs which range from lack of business mentoring, lack of financial resources to sustain and grow their businesses including access saving where they are able to save their profits for the future and the betterment of their lives,’ she explained.

Furthermore, Ms Tshukudu said Thusang Basadi believed in building up financial systems that met the needs of the majority, who were women as they were in the majority in the informal sector and were actively engaged in income generation, micro businesses and were feeding and sustaining families.

She said they funded existing small business starting from P1 000 to P30 000 with five per cent interest and paid on monthly basis, adding that the loan accessed was for working capital and purchasing of equipment.

Ms Tshukudu also said for one to be funded, they had to be fully registered members of the organisation, adding that the registration fee was P50 paid once off.

“Before we fund you, we interview you to see if you are business minded thus helping us to train you where appropriate either in booking keeping or any other business advises,” she said.

She said they always made sure that their clients had skills required to run a successful micro business, adding that training covered record keeping and accounting, inventory control, pricing of products and services, working capital management, credit management, savings and business planning and management.

She said they also offered saving facilities which involved easy account opening at minimal cost per month, and that it was legible to members of Thusang Basadi only.

“As a way to instill financial discipline and promote a culture of saving, we offer personal and group saving facilities for our clients, P75 as the minimum amount for opening savings.

We have a variety of saving accounts being ordinary savings account, group savings account (motshelo, burial societies and neighbourhood watch) and fixed deposit accounts (children or education among others),” she said.

For her part, Ms Kgomotso Kudumo, senior credit officer added that Thusang Basadi was the cheapest and affordable in savings market with no withdrawal fee and that two per cent interest was given to clients quarterly thus making their clientele accumulae six per cent of interest a year.

She said Thusang Basadi has more than 50 000 members nationwide.

Moreover, she said Thusang Basadi was making strides in women livelihood as many of them praised the organisation for uplifting women live.

She said women came to them with determination to succeed, emphasising that most of them were living better because of their orgsnisation, saying they received positive feedback from their clients.

Ms Kodumo said their mission was to alleviate poverty through inclusion among economically active low income women in Botswana by providing micro finance and financial and business support services.