At the heart of our charity’s success are the microfinance beneficiaries who take the modest loans we provide and transform them into thriving businesses—and in turn, thriving communities. But with locations in both Zimbabwe and Chile, how do we recruit the right women to participate in the program?

How We Find Candidates

Our teams on the ground in Mutare, Zimbabwe and Lebu, Chile use their local knowledge and connections to recruit beneficiaries. This may mean presenting to local women’s groups, churches, or government organizations, or just spreading information about our organization by word of mouth.

What We Look For

When we find potential candidates, we check their references, go over their business plan, and look at their previous experience in small business or trade. But ultimately, commitment to growing as an entrepreneur and contributing to their community may be the most important factor, says our founder, Shyam K. Iyer. “When we take a risk on a beneficiary we need them to know it’s a partnership between us, and their success is our success,” he says. “And when they succeed we hope their gains are invested in their families and the broader community.” The right candidate is “someone who sees SKIMFI as their opportunity to achieve independence,” he says. “If they want to take control of their finances and know we are there to give them a hand up and not a hand-out, they will succeed.”

At the end of the day, what makes the biggest difference is the confidence of a beneficiary. Do they believe in themselves as businesswomen and will they stick with their plan when things get difficult? “Unfortunately in many of the locations we operate in women are not so encouraged in the business world,” says Shyam. “Finding that certain ‘it’ factor has been challenging and to this day is our team’s main goal.”

What We’ve Learned So Far

Since we began in 2013, we’ve learned to be more flexible in the terms we ask of our beneficiaries. “At the onset of our program we calculated risk factors and default rates and from there determined what each beneficiary had to do,” says Shyam. “Now that we have more confidence in our team and greater knowledge of the community we can afford to take greater risks, including longer-term arrangements and non-traditional business plans.”

Wondering how you can further SKIC’s mission to help empower economically-excluded women? Listen in to hear about some of the ways you can support our organization: follow our social media channels, keep up with our blog, share with your friends!

Interested in posting stickers or blogging for the organization? Email us at info@skicharities.org

2013 was a productive year for SKImfi beneficiaries: SKImfi expanded to 2 rural regions outside of Zimbabwe’s capital Mutare, and SKImfi Lebu celebrated its first full year of operation.

In this podcast, SKIC founder Shyam explores some of the data trends that were prevalent over the course of the year. These observations are further fleshed out in our State of the Foundation annual newsletter.  Listen in to hear more!

Citizens of many developing countries—in particular Zimbabwe and Chile—have experienced oppression in various forms, ranging from repressive regimes to political isolation. With some exceptions, women and children are hurt most by these periods of suppression. During these times, power is defined by firing a gun, a role that females are typically excluded from. Instead, they are often stripped of a meaningful identity and reduced to their gender. SKIC’s programs of microfinance and scholarships are a means to empower this historically marginalized group and counteract years of subjugation.

By providing loans and scholarships, SKI Charities respects and honors the entrepreneurial spirit and self-initiative of beneficiaries by empowering them with finance and education. In these programs, women and girls are not seen as powerless but rather as capable actors with the aptitude and will to make intelligent decisions that will enable them to succeed, to repay their loan or to graduate. Many of these women have been oppressed for reasons totally beyond their control, based almost solely on their biology. By giving them the tools to succeed, SKIC begins to level the playing field.

Shyam recalls, “there is a prominent aid organization in London that employs disadvantaged individuals to sell newspapers. Their slogan is, ‘a hand up, not a hand out.’ Similarly, we give a hand up to these women and girls, empowering them to achieve equality. Through finance and education, we enable them to rebuild their identity and attain independence.”

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SKIC stickers made their way around the world in 2013. Here’s a glimpse of where we’ve been.

To get some stickers of your own, please email info@skicharities.org. Payment isn’t required – but a photo of your posted sticker is! The more ground we cover, the greater the chances we can spread the word and continue to create change.

Thank you for your help!