The majority of the borrowers and their families indicated that they did not receive any training provided by the lending institutions in the professional or managerial fields for their enterprises, with the exception of two borrowers (one from the north- ern region of the West Bank and the second from the south) who stated that they had a training through the lending institutions in the subjects of enterprise management and marketing. On the other hand, some stated that they had joined training courses in the field of marketing, handicrafts and bookkeeping in centers other than the lend- ing institutions. A number of the borrowers in the Gaza Strip stated that they had been given advice before starting their enterprises in the field of enterprise manage- ment and women rights. Indeed, others did not receive any training.
Women borrowers stressed that they faced many problems in the early establish- ment of their enterprises, especially in the areas of management, finance and mar- keting. They need to elevate their competency in those fields; to get the necessary guidance and all of these affected the ability of borrowers to repay sometimes as well as the development of the enterprise. Also, they need to improve their professional skills in the field of the enterprise, especially craft enterprises and those related to manufacturing and services besides their need of particular technical advice, es- pecially in enterprises related to agriculture and livestock production. At the same time, most of the enterprise required consultation under the current circumstances of emergency and the increased sales on loan which affects the cash available for the development of the enterprise. It was stressed that it is essential to provide training and guidance for women borrowers due to the lack of experience in enterprise man- agement and marketing which will lead to the failure of many enterprises. Women borrowers added that the success of their enterprises relied on the strength of their personality and their determination to succeed in their enterprises.
There was obvious contradiction between what the field workers and the repre- sentatives of the institutions and what the borrowers mentioned. Women borrow- ers stated that the lending institutions services were limited to invite them to intro- duce new types of loans offered by the institution, while the field workers said they are providing training in several areas for the borrowers. In addition, some field workers and the representatives of lending institutions said that they want the bor- rowers to attend training courses in the field of their enterprises, and other areas, but they refuse to join these training sessions. At the same time, institutions can not have a condition to receive training before starting the enterprise due to the high competition and there are several institutions providing loans without training. Therein lays the importance of the field workers role in providing administrative guidance to women borrowers, especially when getting the loan in the initial stages of the enterprise. Also, this highlights the importance of networking with institutions that provide the essential technical training. Recently, “Irada” project has been set up to provide training by the lending institutions for women because of the impor- tance of linking women’s enterprises with the training provided by the institutions themselves.
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Women non-borrowers in the West Bank and Gaza relied on themselves to receive the essential administrative, financial, accounting and technical resources which helped them to manage their enterprises professionally. Some of them have re- ceived training through their relationship with the development institutions (one of them participated in a course of enterprise management through ASALA lending institution). While some reported that they did not receive any training because their businesses do not need it and it relies on the expertise inherent in the enterprise field. This experience is acquired from the family or the husband’s family whose income relies on enterprises such as raising sheep and poultry.
As for the attention and follow-up provided by the lending institution when cli- ents get a loan, the lending institution representative visits them on a monthly basis, contact them to remind them with the loan, sometimes the purpose of the visit
is to follow up the enterprise, view it and provide advice and guidance to borrowers in the field of their enterprise.
Borrowers stated that they were advised to carry out economic feasibility study for their enterprises when they get their loans, and indeed, some lending institutions, did the economic feasibility of their clients’ enterprises. Meanwhile, other borrowers stated that the lending institutions did not provide them with any advice or guidance before starting the enterprise or after carrying out the enterprise, and that the only link for them with lending institutions is financial represented in the collection of the loan. This type of treatment resulted in the feeling of bitterness to the extent that more than one group questioned the role and objectives of the lending institutions
“Are the lending institutions a profit generating organizations aiming at selling the loan, or they are developmental institutions working for women’s develop- ment ? “ Consequently, many of the women borrowers stressed the limited devel-
opmental role for the financial role. In the meantime, all the field workers stressed that they provide advice and guidance to all women borrowers in the field of their enterprises, they visit them to verify the condition of the enterprises ,in addition to the loan payment collection.
Consistently with the above, the study found that lending institutions differ in their missions and objectives. While some of these institutions have objectives that stress the development of women and society, others stress the financial role to develop the economy without paying attention to the particularity of women in general and poor women in particular. This has been reflected on the number of female staff in the institution, and women represented in the decision-making bodies of those in- stitutions, where such representation has been associated with the objectives and vision, as well as with the type of relationship with the woman borrower. However, in most institutions the financial indicators are of high importance in comparison with the development indicators especially those related to gender.
In addition to that, all non-governmental institutions are heading towards the transi- tion to become financial institutions, seeking to achieve key financial indicators to ensure their continuity, permanence and professionalism of those institutions as well as ensuring a financial control8. this raises the question: is this being done at the
8 This is with an emphasis on the importance of the existence of control on financial indicators for continuity and permanence and the ability to continue in providing services to poor women. In addition to head for non-profitable financial organization is one of the conditions set by IMF in the tendency to achieve higher levels of accountability of financial institutions, without denying the need for indicators of development.
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expense of the role and development vision? And what are the indicators that ensure that there is no preference of the financial role over the development one, but rather to have balance between them?
All borrowers and their families confirmed that there was not any problem to contact loan workers besides contacting them at any time to inquire about any matter con- cerning the services provided by the lending institution, their enterprise, or loan; this is definitely distinguishes these institutions from banks. With an emphasis on the presence of a small number of borrowers who reported they could not contact a loan worker often due to lack of a strong relationship between them and the loan worker. It turned out during the meetings and the focus groups that the relationship with the field worker as a representative of the lending institutions is very important and this reflects the organization’s policies and programs.
frame 1: Women borrowers and non Borrower’s suggestions to improve conditions for obtaining a loan:
To be able to benefit from these loans .Some changes and improvement in the conditions for obtaining loans from lending institutions must take place including the following:
1. Reduce the loan’s interest rate.
2. For the repeated loans, they should guarantee themselves (i.e., do not need the presence of guarantees, especially if the enterprise was successful and the borrower has taken more than a loan from the institution itself).
3. There will be a grace period without any interest on the productive enterprises to enable the enterprise to produce .
4. To give courses, training, to provide advice and guidance to borrowers, in order to help women succeed in their businesses and to achieve the desired goals of the loans.
5. Periodic follow-up of enterprises for assistance and support.
6. Cancellation of financial penalties for late payment as they burden borrowers and taking into account the circumstances and rescheduling the loans of women who are unable to repay.
7. Reduce the loan collaterals including guarantees and others. 8. Help clients in the marketing process so that can pay the loan fast.
9. Borrowers and their families agreed that lending institutions must adopt a development policy to give loans, not the policy of selling for profit, and work to provide adequate training and advice to borrowers through the dedicated staff development .
In this context, women have reported non-borrowers need to make improvements on these loans in terms of:
1. Giving large amounts of money in order to ensure their adequacy for the establishment of a large enterprise.
2. Reducing the interest rate on borrowers.
3. Help borrowers on the marketing of their products.
4. Reducing the guarantees and the complications followed by lending institutions, with women in order to achieve the targeted goal, and its women’s development and not the sale of loans and that ensure an increase in turnout borrowers to lending institutions.
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The results of the field visits indicated that half of women borrowers will advise other women to get a micro-loan, to support or develop their enterprises, 40% of them have the intention to enlarge the enterprise in the future and half of them will resort to lending institutions for funding.
Regarding the difficulties faced by women borrowers in Gaza when they started their enterprises and during their execution, the borrowers and their families stated that the enterprises at their beginning were having a difficult time pertaining to the availa- bility of the suitable location, lack of marketing for some enterprises, lack of fodder of birds and poultry, lack of raw materials for other enterprises, the hard economic and political conditions which were in many cases an obstacle before the development of the enterprises, the high prices and sales on loan resulting from the emergency situation, the war and siege on the Gaza Strip, as well as the difficult economic con- ditions there. The women non- borrowers in Gaza faced similar difficulties as well. In addition to the insufficient loan for the women borrowers and the insufficient finan- cial resources for the non-borrowers, as well as social and religious difficulties that were facing borrowers in terms of prohibition of lending by some sheikhs.