About Deki
We empower people living in poverty to create sustainable livelihoods by providing access to microloans and training.
You can get involved by lending anything from £10 to your chosen entrepreneur and get repaid in 6-12 months.
We work with field partners, who help people generate sustainable incomes and become self-sufficient. The small sums of money, when combined with the commitment of our entrepreneurs, can transform lives and whole communities.
We charge no interest and take no commission from loans. We rely solely on donations to cover running costs and enable us to continue connecting entrepreneurs and investors around the world. We use carefully-vetted field partners to pass on loans to borrowers in their local currency. Field partners pass on minimal interest rates to help cover running costs and ensure sustainability. Rates are monitored to ensure they are fair and affordable.
Deki currently works in Malawi, Togo, Ghana and Nepal.
We currently have a 100% repayment rate.
Training
Basic business education and ongoing support is vital for microfinance to succeed. Deki is currently implementing a training programme to ensure that our existing and future field partners provide the best possible support to their borrowers.
We are in the process of developing a training toolkit which will use a participatory approach to learning and include the following areas:
- separating money between business and household
- reinvesting profits in the business
- maintaining records of sales and expenses
- budgeting your money
- saving for the future
- thinking proactively about new markets and opportunities for profit
Protecting our clients
Deki has signed up for Smart Campaign client protection principles, which are set to deliver transparent, respectful and prudent financial services to all clients.
The following core principles help microfinance institutions practice good ethics and smart business:
- Appropriate product design and delivery
- Prevention of over-indebtedness
- Transparency
- Responsible pricing
- Fair and respectful treatment of clients
- Privacy of client data
- Mechanisms for complaint resolution
Read Deki Smart Campaign statement here
Progress out of Poverty Index - PPI
In January 2012 Deki will employ a new tool PPI - Progress out of Poverty Index - developed by Grameen Foundation. Using the PPI helps us better determine our entrepreneurs' needs, evaluate the effectiveness of our programs, how quickly entrepreneurs leave poverty, and what helps them to move out of poverty faster.
The Deki story
Vashti Seth created Deki in 2008 after being affected by the plight of Deki Dolkha - a Tibetan refugee sponsored by Vashti's father as a child.
Vashti visited Deki in India and they both stayed in touch via email. However, once Deki had finished school, poverty and lack of opportunities forced her to return to her estranged family in remote, rural Tibet. Here, she had little chance to put her education to good use.
This experience motivated Vashti to help people in developing countries build their own economies independently and sustainably through microloans and training. Rather than depending on handouts, this enables them to set up independent businesses and become financially self-sufficient.
Deki has been awarded 'Best Social Enterprise' by the University of the West of England. Vashti was shortlisted as Red Magazine's 'Businesswoman of the Year' 2010.