Institution Contact Details |
|
| Name of Institution |
VANWODS MICROFINANCE, INC. |
| Postal Address |
PMB 9077 Port Vila |
| Country |
Vanuatu |
| Telephone |
(678) 26869 |
| Fax |
(678) 24461 |
|
Website Address |
|
|
Skype |
|
|
Contact Person |
John Salong |
|
Position |
Managing Director |
|
|
|
Current Legal Status of the Institution |
Microfinance Institution registered under the Vanuatu Charitable Associations Act of 1991
|
|
Objectives |
To provide accessible financial and business development services to economically marginalised individuals and communities in Vanuatu
|
|
Brief History |
VANWODS started as a pilot project implemented under the then Department of Women and culture in 1996 with financial and technical support from the United Nations Development Programme - UN Office for Project Services (UNDP-UNOPS) Regional Equitable and Sustainable Human Development Project.The Project was initiated in response to the Vanuatu National Plan of Action for Women to provide disadvantaged women with access to microfinance and income earning opportunities. With the succesful piloting of the project, a full project was developed under the UNDP country programme in 1997 - VAN/97/002, the Vanuatu Women's Development Scheme (VANWODS). The project was implemented through the Department of Women's Affairs and technically backstopped by the UNDP/UNOPS Pacific SMILE Programme (RAS/98/305) and the successor Pacific Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (RAS/02/360). Through the years, the VANWODS Project embraced the vision of becoming a sustainable financial instiution owned and managed by its own members/beneficiaries. In 2001, after five years of operation, it reached a size and stage that i became desirable to transform the Project into a independent beneficiary-owned organisation registered under the Charitable Assocations Act of Vanuatu.
|
|
Ownership
|
Non-Government Organisation |
|
Operations related to |
Microcredit Program (Grameen-type), Microfinance for Employees in the private Sector (MICROPEPS)
|
|
Main Funding Sources |
(Previusly) Vanuatu Government, UNDP
|
|
Main Challenges |
Small disperesed population, scarce technical and managerial manpower and high cost of operations.
|
|
Other Networks |
|