The communities Kageno serves have meager, one-dimensional economies that rest entirely upon the fishing and farming industries. The cyclical nature of these industries means that jobs come and go as natural swings in weather and fishing patterns occur, and during certain long periods people cannot feed themselves. Unemployment rates in these communities run as high as 80 percent.
Kageno is managing a simple microfinance program in Kenya that will increase in volume and complexity as resources become available. Currently, the microfinance program grants individual loan packages every six months (in January and June) to local men and women needing loans for simple, small business enterprises. Loan sizes range from 3,000 to 15,000 Kenyan Shillings, or between 46 and 231 USD. This amount enables entrepreneurs, fishermen, and fishmongers to buy inventory and equipment.
Kageno’s microloan venture addresses two needs common to all Kageno communities:
1) The need to diversify the economic base; and, 2) The need to replace exploitation with empowerment in local industries – especially for women.
The goal of the Microloan program is to mitigate failures in exploitive business cycles, and strengthen the economic base by building local capacity.
Through its microloan program, Kageno has strengthened the fishing sector for the women of Kolunga Beach, and energized grassroots businesses for shopkeepers, artisans, and vendors of fresh vegetables and grain.