Borrow Wisely Campaign
The sixth annual Borrow Wisely Campaign will take place in October 2019. Borrow Wisely is an annual international campaign promoting global client protection standards through borrowers education. As with previous years, MFC and partner organizations will be delivering key messages about how to borrow money safely, harnessing the positive power of loans and avoiding the pitfalls of too much debt. This year, list of campaign partners include:
Agro&Social Fund (Albania), NOA Sh.a. (Albania), Farm Credit (Armenia), Ucora (Armenia), AMFA (Azerbaijan), EKI (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lider (Bosnia and Herzegovina), MiBospo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Partner (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Sunrise (Bosnia and Herzegovina), SIS Credit (Bulgaria), USTOI (Bulgaria), Crystal (Georgia), KEPA (Greece), AFK(Kosovo), Horizonti (Macedonia), Microinvest (Moldova), Monte Credit (Montenegro), The Polish Union of Loan Funds (Poland), Vitas (Romania), AgroInvest (Serbia), Opportunity Bank (Serbia), Imon (Tajikistan), Hope (Ukraine),
What is Borrow Wisely! Campaign?
The Borrow Wisely! promotes global client protection standards. This annual international campaign is led by the MFC and its partners. We work with any institution that is a responsible lender (complying with current global standards of client protection) working in the Europe and Central Asian region.
What is our goal?
We aim to educate large numbers of clients about how to borrow money safely, harnessing the positive power of loans and avoiding the pitfalls of too much debt.
Borrowers need understand that they have the power to borrow wisely is in their hands, and that they can avoid the risks of over-indebtedness by asking themselves key questions to get to grips with how much they can safely borrow.
Why MFIs should participate?
As an industry, our future depends on our ability to lend responsibly, and to protect against client over-indebtedness in line with international standards. Responsible lending is good for clients and good for the reputation of the industry as a whole. The campaign is an excellent opportunity to re-confirm institution customer care orientation and commitment to responsible finance.
What will we do?
The campaign targets clients and potential clients of microfinance institutions. Campaign partners’ field staff will use posters, leaflets brochures and videos to communicate the importance of borrowing wisely. We developed a simple “pre-loan” checklist of questions that clients should ask themselves before taking out a loan, to ensure that only borrow safe and responsible levels of debt. These questions are:
- How much can I afford to borrow?
- Do I know how much I will pay?
- Do I fully understand the contract?
- What should I do if I am not satisfied?
- How to control debt?