MFI Report

The microcredit program of Christian Children`s Fund-Sierra Leone (CCF-SL) was established as a component of the USAID funded Skills Training and Employment Generation (STEG) project, with the first loans being disbursed in September 2002. STEG was focused on assisting the reintegration of ex-combatants back into their communities. Under the one-year STEG I project, the CCF MEDI (microenterprise development initiatives) Program provided services in Tonokolili, Koinadugu and Bombali Districts. Based on the success of this effort STEG II was awarded in 2003 to expand activities in Koinadugu, which by then had emerged as a priority area for assistance. When the STEG project ended in December 2003, the microcredit program began continuing on its own and is in the on-going process of establishing itself as a microfinance institution (MFI), independent from other CCF-SL programs. The transition to a MFI has involved substantial changes in program and management structure and has created the need for additional funding to enable the program to progress towards self-sustainability. Starting in January 2006, the microcredit program, formerly called MEDI-SL, began using the name Salone Microfinance Trust (SMT). The name change, along with necessary structure and operations changes and improvements, are part of the continuing process of establishing the microfinance activities into an independent MFI. The formation of SMT is consistent with CCF, Inc.’s policy of delivering financial services through an independent MFI that is moving toward financial sustainability. Currently SMT operates in two districts in the northeastern part of the country, Bombali and Koinadugu. In addition to its headquarters office in Makeni (Bombali), SMT operates 2 branch offices, one also in Makeni and the other in Kapala (Koinadugu). Cacher