About CUMO
CUMO's unique ‘branchless' and ‘cashless' system (it operates through partners such as Standard Bank, NBS Bank, Malawi Savings Bank, Agora and Farmer's World) means that it is able to expand rapidly and at low cost to bring its services to the doorsteps of the rural poor. CUMO works beyond the trading centres, reaching rural areas where there are no formal financial services. By keeping minimum loan sizes low, CUMO ensures that its client profile consists of a significant proportion of the rural poor. But CUMO also offers a range of larger loan products which enable people to ‘graduate' from the initial smaller products as their businesses grow. In 2010, CUMO disbursed loans worth over MK 660,000,000 (£2,700,000) and facilitated savings of over MK66,000,000 (£270,000). 83% of CUMO's clients are women.
CUMO’s vision:
To become a viable regional rural microfinance network capable of meeting the diverse financial needs of remote communities, in order to alleviate poverty
CUMO’s mission:
To improve the lives of the rural poor by taking financial services to the doorsteps of remote and difficult to reach communities, with special focus on women
The markets CUMO serves:
- CUMO remote rural areas & villagers where clients are normally vastly and sparsely dispersed in their remote villages
- Conventional markets (Boma, trading centers & MI) are excluded
- Targeted areas require a lot of travelling on rough terrain to reach
- CUMO targets the poorest but productive villagers
Related pages
- More Information
- Improving lives with business loans & training, Malawi
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