Each microloan is small by design — sized to what a person actually needs to get a business off the ground, not more than that.

Here is how the process works:

A borrower presents a business plan to our local partners at Ubuntu Nation Malawi. The plan is reviewed together — not by distant administrators, but by people who know the community, understand local costs, and can speak honestly about what is feasible.

If approved, the loan is disbursed and the borrower gets to work.

Repayments are made bi-weekly or monthly, in amounts the borrower’s projected income can realistically support. A small accountability group — peers chosen by the borrower — shares responsibility for the loan. This is not punitive. It is how communities have always worked: together.

When the loan is fully repaid, those funds are available to support the next borrower.

No loan disappears. Every repayment is a new beginning for someone else.

A microloan is only as strong as the support behind it.

Before any funds are disbursed, each borrower works through a structured preparation process — not as a formality, but because we believe the foundation of a successful business is built before the doors open.

What every borrower receives:

A Business Field Manual — a practical, plain-language workbook that walks borrowers through budgeting, inventory tracking, pricing, and basic recordkeeping. It is designed for real conditions in Dzaleka: no assumptions about prior business experience, no complicated language.

Financial literacy training — covering how to project income, manage expenses, plan for slow weeks, and separate business funds from household funds. Simple disciplines that make the difference between a business that survives and one that doesn’t.

A repayment plan built around realistic projections — not what sounds good on paper, but what the business can actually sustain. Loan terms, repayment amounts, and schedules are set together with the borrower, not handed down to them.

An accountability group — a small circle of peers, chosen by the borrower, who share responsibility and offer ongoing encouragement. This mirrors how trust and mutual aid already function within the Dzaleka community.

We currently have three active pilot microloans. These borrowers are the first. They went through the training, signed the agreements, and opened their doors.

If they succeed — and we believe they will — they won’t simply graduate out of the program. They will become part of it.

Our intention is for successful borrowers to serve as mentors for the next generation of lendees: people who have done it, who understand the pressures of running a small business inside Dzaleka, and who can offer something no workbook can — the credibility of having been there themselves.

This is how the program grows: not just in the number of loans, but in the depth of the community that holds them.