Yehu Microfinance Trust

In an accounting class at BYU Justin was introduced to this new form of banking called microfinance. Mohammed Yunus, the father of microfinance started this system of giving small loans to groups of women to start businesses in India…and it worked. Women were becoming self-sufficient, successful business owners and bringing themselves and their families out of poverty for good. After a single lecture on the subject Justin was so excited about it that on the way home we didn’t even get inside the house before he had told me all about it. This was something he wanted to be a part of and it didn’t take long to convince me. We found Yehu through the BYU Center for Economic Self-Reliance which had several internship opportunities. This internship caught his eye because of how impressed he had been with the African people he met while on his mission in Spain. We spent a lot of time thinking and praying about coming here. We met with the internship contact in Utah and learned a little bit more about Yehu. Yehu Microfinance was started in 1999 as a small branch of a larger organization called Choice Humanitarian. The branch slowly grew as it found some success in the micro lending industry. Louis Pope, owner of U.S. Synthetic in Orem, Utah took on the project and helped Yehu become independent of Choice Humanitarian. The bank is now run by a native Kenyan CEO and all employees are Kenyans (with the exception of a few interns). Yehu has over 50 employees and over 12,000 clients. The bank desires to grow into a much larger entity and serve all of Kenya whereas now they have been able to reach clients in an area with a radius of about 40 miles. Yehu follows the Grameen Bank principles loaning mainly to groups of women and requiring weekly meetings and payments. We have enjoyed getting a closer look at this amazing industry that is taking off all over the world and is making a real difference. (More information about microfinance can be found on the world wide web – have fun) Yehu is having their annual general meeting next month and we are very excited to attend it. All of the clients and employees are invited. Reports about the company’s progress and plans for the future will be given. There will also be native music and dancing of various tribes that will be represented.

The gate to our office building.

Just inside the gate. The building is shared by Yehu and Choice Humanitarian.

Some paperwork. Many of the clients are illiterate and so they do the best they can with paperwork.