Reaching Rural Families in DR Congo Your Impact Report, Fall 2024 OUR GRATITUDE Thanks to your ongoing belief in the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Opportunity International continues to reach more smallholder farmers and their businesses with the tools they need to produce successful harvests, increase their income, and stabilize their families in sustainable ways.
AGRICULTURE FINANCE IN THE DRC Opportunity International’s staff and financial institution partners continue to see that Opportunity’s proven three-pronged model of training, access to financial resources, and support is foundational to long- term success; partnerships with trained financial institutions, well-equipped Farmer Support Agents, and financial products are key components.
Farmer Support Agents receiving bicycles to reach their farmer groups more easily
PROGRESS ON OUR WORK As you know, Opportunity’s Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) are local farmers who have been successful and are willing to train and help other farmers to succeed as well. As of July 2024, we have 122 Farmer Support Agents supporting 17,410 registered farmers within the Gemena/Karawa area—53% of whom are women—and 60 FSAs supporting 11,349 registered farmers in Kasai—59% are women. • • • • • •
Opportunity’s training manuals were printed in Lingala and Tshiluba and have been shared with all our FSAs in Ubangi and Kasai Oriental. FSAs have conducted a “Group Dynamic” refresher training with their savings groups due to several significant updates in the latest version of the teaching manual. New FSAs in Gemena and Karawa will be trained in financial literacy and bank products, following the successful roll out of the “Group Dynamic” training. The “Family Business and Entrepreneurship” manual has been translated into local languages and will go into production after final editing. 60 FSAs in Karawa have received bicycles and other materials that will help them reach their savings groups more easily (see photo for the smiling faces!). Program officers have connected 739 mature savings groups to financial institution partners for group lending products.
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