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CAMFED IMPACT REPORT
(as shown in Gift’s story on page 65). In addition to
this clear benefit, the exposure it offers to young rural
women who have never owned or managed cash is in
itself profoundly transforming. It acclimatizes young
women to a cash economy and to seeing themselves
as people who can conduct business, giving them
the confidence, knowledge and tools to develop
financial intelligence. In Camfed’s experience, this
first exposure in a safe and supportive environment
provides an essential bridge to the opportunities
afforded by microfinance institutions. Without this first
exposure, many young rural women would not have
the knowledge or confidence to access these.
so helping women to diversify into new markets where
there is less competition is a priority.
An analysis of 48 SMP-supported businesses in the
Shangombo and Mpika Districts of Zambia over a period
of three months shows that those businesses operating
in markets with few competing businesses (e.g. selling
curtains) had higher profits than those businesses with
many competitors (e.g. selling food stuffs). These lessons
are incorporated into SMP training with the goal of
encouraging more young businesswomen into niche
markets, with the aim of increasing overall profit margins
for businesses operating in the same district.
Camfed is committed to expanding economic options
for women so that they can generate higher incomes
for themselves and their families, create and sustain
businesses that improve local employment and prosperity,
and play a more fundamental role in reviving local
economies. Greater diversification within the small
businesses it finances through the SMP is a goal for
Camfed (and a common concern within microfinance
schemes generally). Many of the businesses currently
supported by the SMP operate in similar product-markets,
The impact of Camfed’s Seed Money Program will be
assessed in a research study in 2010, in collaboration with
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
and the NIKE Foundation. This study will analyze the
impact of the SMP as a bridge to previously unattainable
opportunities for women, and the results will inform
future development. Already the program shows signs of
success in catalyzing a cascade effect in Tanzania; Camfed’s
2008/09 study revealed that two-thirds of Tanzania’s Seed
Money Program recipients report that they provided other
women with financial or other material support.
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