Table Banking
What is Table Banking?
Table banking is a form of microfinancing built on trust, where neighbors loan each other money when traditional banking systems fail them.
- We select a group of 15-20 neighbors who are interested in sponsorship.
- The groups must show that they can function independently, having a bank account and are recognized as a CBO (Community Based Organization).
- We give the new group an initial grant of $1,000 to $1,200 US dollars, and a smartphone so they can connect with our team.
- Members take out loans to pay for entrepreneurial projects
- Chickens or goats to raise and sell
- Rain barrels to collect water
- Money to sell clothes in town
- Loans are recorded in a ledger, on a table
- Each month, the members meet
- Pay loans, with interest
- Take out new loans
- Report on funding status to WAF
- Over time, the initial grant can double or quadruple, enriching the whole neighborhood
- We provide coaches in-country to help groups get started, to hold each neighbor accountable and to celebrate successes.
Kenyan Microfinancing Group monthly meeting.
(Tiunda Mwonaa)
“You’re thinking of the place all wrong, as if I have the money bank in a safe. The money’s not here. Your money’s in Joe’s house… and a hundred others. You’re lending them the money to build and then they’re going to pay it back to you the best they can.”
-George Bailey, It’s a Wonderful Life