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Henry
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« Reply To This #48 on: October 01, 2007, 09:23:37 AM » |
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TYM – A PORTRAIT
MISSION
TYM stands for “Tao Yeu Mai” in Vietnamese, meaning “I love you” and is the international name for the Mutual Affection Fund of the Vietnam Women’s Union. The mission of the Fund is to
Improve the quality and life of poor women in rural areas by providing credit and savings to groups of Fund members, creating favourable conditions for their participation in economic activities and enhancing their role in society.
HISTORY
The TYM Fund was founded in 1992 by the Vietnam Women’s Union in order to help implement the poverty alleviation programme of the Government. It is a replication of the Grameen banking model adapted to the specific context of Vietnam. Along the process of development, TYM has received financial and technical support from a number of international organisations such as ACT, CARD, Grameen Trust, OXFAM America and others. Today TYM has 24,000 women members in 7 North Vietnamese provinces from Vinh Phuc to Nghe An. During 15 years of operation, TYM Fund has contributed to VWU’s objective of assisting women in economic development, improving women’s living conditions and status and promoting gender equality in Vietnam. Through its program, TYM Fund has assisted more than 40,000 poor women in overcoming poverty and participating in community activities and management. In 2005 TYM Fund signed a trilateral cooperation agreement with Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation / Sparkasse Essen and its long-term friend and partner CARD. German and Philippine experts provide technical assistance for TYM’s in strengthening, expanding and transforming it into a licensed Microfinance Institution in Vietnam. As a first important step towards this goal, as of January 2006 the VWU transformed TYM Fund into a separate legal entity governed by a Management Board.
TARGET GROUP
Women having an income below the poverty line defined by the Vietnamese Government (currently monthly income below VND 200.000 or USD 12,5) and meeting some other criteria can become members of TYM. Five Members form a Group, and a Center comprises 6-8 Groups. Before becoming eligible for a loan, all members have to undergo 3 day training on the policies and procedures of TYM, on the role of the Centres and the communities as well as on basic business and financial skills.
SERVICES
All TYM services are provided at the weekly or monthly Center meetings where loan applications are discussed and approved, repayments and savings collected. The Center also serves as a meeting place, where business development is being discussed, the staff of TYM and external experts provide training on family, gender and health issues, and social activities are being carried out.
1) Loans
Loans are disbursed according to cycles, amounts start with VND 300,000 up to a maximum of VND 20 million (USD 1,250). Tenors range from 10 – 70 weeks. Interest rates are generally 1% per month. Payment of principal and interest is effected weekly. Most loans are used for increasing income. There is also a multi-purpose loan (emergency loan) with smaller amounts and shorter tenors which can be used for consumption. As of June 2007, the 23.825 members of TYM had loans of VND 58.7 billion (USD 3.6 million) outstanding, meaning an average loan amount of VND 2.5 million (USD 153).
2) Savings
In order to build their own assets and to educate a savings habit, all TYM members make weekly compulsory savings of VND 3,000 (USD 0.19) which earn an interest of 0.5% per month and can be withdrawn after a certain minimum period. TYM also encourages its members to save on a voluntary basis, starting with amounts as little as VND 1,000 (USD 0.06) per week. Recently TYM has started to offer term deposits for 3 and 6 months (“family savings”). As of June 2007 the savings balance of TYM members amounted to VND 31.1 billion (USD 1.9 million).
3) Mutual Assistance Fund
Each member contributes VND 200 (USD 0.012) per week to a Fund which covers part of extraordinary expenses of the beneficiaries in case of serious illness of a member or death of a family member. The Fund also compensates loan write-offs in case of death of a borrower.
ORGANISATION
TYM Fund has a total professional staff of 140 working in the Hanoi Head Office and in 19 Branches in 7 provinces (Hanoi, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An). 74 Technical Officers (loan officers) each serve about 280 members. The Head Office comprises 13 regular staff (Operations, Training, Accounting, Administration) and 3 internal auditors.
Financial information is consolidated at Head Office on a monthly basis. In 2006 TYM has achieved operational self-sufficiency of 125% and financial self-sufficiency of 115%.
CHALLENGES
TYM’s main goal for the near future is to upgrade to a microfinance institution, licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam in accordance with the recently approved Government Decree No. 28. This will require training of staff, organisational improvements, installation of an adequate management information system, tapping local and international funding resources and expansion of the branch network, especially in areas not covered by other programmes. While professionalizing as institution, TYM will maintain its social commitment to helping poor women in rural areas in close cooperation with the Women’s Union.
July 2007
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