Tsalani bwino Malawi

Sadly, we say goodbye and depart Malawi today. It has been such an insightful and inspirational week and we will return with many encouraging stories of our clients and Malawian colleagues. It can be hard to fully understand the transformation that is taking place without seeing it firsthand but we can tell you now that change is really happening!

During our last meal in Malawi (which of course included Chambo, the local fish), we reflected on the highlights of the week. What are we most excited about for the future?

• We look forward to seeing continued outreach to the rural communities, which are certainly the poorest, through the expansion of OIBM's mobile banks, satellite branches and POS devices.

• We love the work that OIBM's agriculturalist specialists are doing with the smallholder farming clients. The tailored loan products and agricultural training will empower farmers to move on from subsistence farming and will help provide food security throughout the country.

• The focus on financial literacy. OIBM's educational programme will equip clients with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed choices on financial services (something that would also be beneficial back home!). It will also help individuals understand the importance of savings and insurance in order to manage risks and reduce vulnerability. This training will not only improve the welfare of our clients, but will lead to a stronger financial sector across Malawi.

• Finally, the ongoing empowerment that can be seen in our clients, especially the women, as they pull themselves out of poverty. There is nothing like seeing a woman in a trust group meeting stand up in confidence in front of her peers and proudly explain how her business has grown, her profits increased and the quality of her family's life improved as a result of her own hard work and the financial services provided by OIBM.
  

On that note, we will leave you with one of our favourite client quotes of the trip. This is from Grace, an OIBM trust group client who is on her fifth loan cycle. Grace is the mother of 3 and runs a successful business selling second hand clothes. When we asked her why she and her girlfriends decided to form a trust group and take a loan from OIBM she responded:

"We wanted to empower ourselves. We wanted to show that even women can do it. Where we live, men already have access to most of the good things in life. Let's give women a chance."