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Achieving Financial Stability

Written by: Grameen Foundation

Article Overview: Marie Francois' story - Haiti

Achieving Financial Stability

Fonkoze, Haiti’s alternative bank for the organized poor, seeks to build the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti through microfinance. Grameen Foundation is committed to supporting Fonkoze’s efforts to help clients like Marie Francois Neptune move beyond subsistence living and achieve financial stability, and, in the process, build economically vibrant communities from the grassroots up.

At the tender age of 18, Marie Francois Neptune’s life changed forever when her mother passed away and she was left to raise her five young siblings on her own. Forced to drop out of school, Marie Francois supported her brothers and sisters as a ti machann, or female street vendor, hawking goods on foot from village to village in southern Haiti. In order to purchase kennedy (used clothing from the United States), rice, beans and other items to sell, Marie Francois borrowed money from the local isirye (moneylender). However, due to high interest rates charged by the isirye, Marie Francois kept very little of the profit she earned and had to struggle to support her family. “Basically, I was working for the izirye, not for myself,” she remembers.



Marie Francois struggled in this manner for many years. Through sheer determination, she was able to provide for her siblings and allow them to finish their schooling, a luxury she never had. Yet because she was unable to obtain credit anywhere but from the izirye, her business could not grow and she remained mired in poverty. Over time, the family she had inherited after her mother’s death grew to include four children of her own, increasing the financial strain.

Then at age 47, she joined Fonkoze’s Okay branch and took her first loan. She used the capital to travel to places like Panama and the Dominican Republic to purchase a greater variety of merchandise (such as auto and bicycle parts) as well as larger quantities. Since she no longer loses most of her profit to moneylenders, Marie Francois has been able to grow her business and even employs other ti machann to sell her wares. “The biggest change that Fonkoze has brought to my life is that now I don’t have to borrow money from the izirye… I can use the money I make to buy more merchandise for my business, which helps me make a bigger profit. And with this profit, I can afford to send my children to school. It also enables me to give them food without any problem, and to take care of them if they get sick.”

With credit from Fonkoze and her own hard work, Marie Francois has been able to see her business grow and thrive. She recognizes the value of this opportunity, both for herself and others like her: “Fonkoze is bringing a change economically to the lives of the ti machann. I don’t have to worry for tomorrow because I see that my future is becoming more beautiful. I can always count on Fonkoze to be there for me.”

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Article Tags: alternative bank, bicycle, brothers and sisters, dominican republic, economic foundations, financial stability, fonkoze, grameen foundation, grassroots, high interest rates, microfinance, neptune, poverty, quantities, sheer determination, siblings, street vendor, subsistence living, tender age, vibrant communities



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