Cambodia - Seilanithih Limited

Securing the future for small enterprises

During the harvest season, Mrs Khiev Orn and her husband sleep in a hut nestled among the cashew trees to safeguard the nuts from thieves. These nuts serve as the chief income for the couple, who live in rural Sre Preal village in the Cambodian province of Kampong Cham.

Once harvested, Mrs Khiev Orn waits until after the season to sell, meaning she gets the highest sale prices for the produce. To be able to properly harvest and maintain her crops, the mother of five has a loan of USD 1,200 from Cambodian microfinance institution, Seilanithih. Mrs Khiev Orn uses the loan to pay 10 labourers to work three hectares of land, but also to buy fertilizers and other necessities for her crop. Before the Seilanithih loan, Mrs Khiev Orn would have to use money from savings or borrow money from her children who live in Phnom Penh.

Almost 20 years ago, the foundations of Seilanithih were developed when CARE Cambodia received funding for an innovative, unique poverty alleviation project in a peri-urban region of Phnom Phen. The ‘Social Economic Improvement for Local Agency' was founded at the same time CARE established two Village Banks (organizations that lend to groups of people) in two other provinces of Cambodia. It was the success of these three enterprises that saw the initiatives combine in 1996 to form non-government organization Seilanithih.

Seven years later, Seilanithih converted to a licensed microfinance institution and today, it still strives to deliver sustainable rural development and improve the living standards of Cambodia's poor by providing access to financial services. Seilanithih has grown to 23 branch offices, and serves over 13,000 clients.

For agriculture clients such as Mrs Khiev Orn, Seilanithih aims to help increase their production, sale volumes and overall living standard. The two primary products the MFI offers is loans and savings, aimed at both rural and urban poor to help them improve their income-generating projects. The MFI has been an Oikocredit project partner since 2007.


Mrs. Khiev Orn showing us her cashew trees

 

2011

Date last revised: 13-9-2012

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