Mineke Foundation’s Women’s Club is once again expecting a 100% repayment rate on all microloans issued through its revolving fund in 2025. In a context like Liberia – where incomes are unpredictable and formal credit systems are largely inaccessible to large groups of people – this result is far from ordinary.
For us, repayment is an indicator that our programme is working as intended.
Microloans embedded in a wider system
At the Women’s Club, microloans are not offered as isolated financial products. They are one element of a holistic programme that combines entrepreneurship support, savings, business coaching, peer accountability, and health and gender education.
Before receiving a loan, women participate in business training. Loan sizes are matched to business capacity and repayment terms are clearly explained. We have found a way to do this that also works well for our many members who are semi-literate.
Who are the Women’s Club members?
Women’s Club members are mostly adult women from Dabwe Town and surrounding communities in Liberia. In 2025, our 271 members ranged in age from 19 to 71, with 45% younger than 35. Many are singe mothers or primary caregivers. About 10% of our members are male.
Most members are small-scale or aspiring micro-entrepreneurs operating informal businesses such as petty market trading, food processing or basic services. Incomes are very low and irregular and households are highly exposed to financial shocks related to, for example, illness or bereavement.
Education levels vary but tend to be low. Liberia’s female literacy rate remains low by global standards, particularly among adult women, and many Women’s Club members have limited schooling. This shapes how we designed the programme: training is highly practical, coaching is hands-on, and learning is adapted to different literacy levels.
What unites our members is a strong motivation to improve their financial situation and a high level of commitment once expectations and support structures are clearly defined.
Individual loans, collective accountability
In 2025, the Women’s Club disbursed 164 microloans, with an average loan size of USD 421. Microloans are issued to individual women, but always as part of small groups of Women’s Club members. Each borrower belongs to a group led by a group head. The guarantor is someone with a bigger and financially stronger business, who knows the women well and chooses to serve as guarantor.
This structure creates a strong layer of social trust and mutual accountability. Group members know each other’s businesses, check in regularly, and support one another when challenges arise. The group head plays a key role in monitoring progress, flagging risks early, and encouraging timely repayment. We work closely with both members and group heads to ensure that our approach meets the women’s needs as well as our risk management criteria.
Support instead of punishment
A key factor behind our 100% repayment rate is how we respond when things go wrong. Illness, family emergencies and economic shocks are a reality for many women in Liberia. Rather than simply penalising members when repayments are delayed, the Women’s Club works with them to adjust repayment schedules where needed.
This approach maintains accountability while recognising real-life constraints. It reinforces discipline while maintaining dignity, and significantly reduces the risk of default without relying on punitive measures. It also reinforces trust: women know they are expected to repay, but also, that they are not abandoned when circumstances become difficult.
Savings and peer-to-peer loans
Repayment is further supported by the Club’s savings system and strong peer networks. In 2025, 128 women saved a total of USD 5,233, often in very small monthly amounts. Women use these savings to give each other small loans. These loans are mostly used for household or medical expenses, or to pay schoolfees. In 2025, 70 peer-to-peer loans were issued. This helps women manage household shocks and also ensures that Mineke Foundation’s microloans are only used for business activities.
Why this matters
A 100% repayment rate is fantastic, of course. And we’re working hard to ensure that we can maintain this.
Interest income from the loans flows back into the revolving fund, growing it little by little so that more women can get a loan. This strengthens the programme’s financial sustainability.
Our results show that responsible lending is possible when finance is embedded in a broader framework of coaching, trust and shared accountability. In other words: microfinance works best when it is not only treated as a transaction, but also as a relationship.