New market fire victims in Secondi Takoradi receive support from MASLOC

At least one hundred traders, largely market women in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Area (STMA) in the Western Region, who are victims of a market fire disaster, six months ago, have been supported by Microfinance and Small Loans Center (MASLOC). The objective behind the support offered to the victims by MASLOC, primarily centers on helping the affected market women with the required financial backing to bounce back into business. "This is a special case, like I indicated, we are there to support businesses, so any market woman qualifies to apply to MASLOC, but this is just a start," the MASLOC boss said. The traders, who lost their wares, goods, shops, and stalls worth millions of Ghana cedis, had appealed to the government to assist them recover from the disaster. A cogent reason, significantly informing the decision of MASLOC to rush to the aid of the affected market women largely trading at the new market in Takoradi and currently reeling under bizarre circumstances created by the disaster. At the presentation of small loans amounting to five thousand Ghana cedis (5000) to each of the fire victims, the management of MASLOC led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hajia Abibata Shani Mahama Zakaria, encouraged the beneficiary market women to endeavor to comply with the terms and conditions of the loan and make the payment process hustle free. "Once they are able to do the repayment, we are going to help them more. We are going to increase the threshold from five thousand (5000) Ghana cedis to a bigger amount," she added. The CEO expressed delight in meeting the affected market women in person following a series of behind the scene conversations. "Initially, the number was 50 and I said well, we could increase it to 100," she disclosed. The CEO of MASLOC demonstrated her personal commitment and indicated the desire of the organization to support the market women and all traders who were affected by the fire incident and truly require their services. Hajia Abibata described the disbursement of the small loans to the fire victims as one of a kind, considering the transparent nature of activities being carried out at MASLOC, coupled with the due process required for all applicants to go through before securing the soft loans. Consequently, she warned against abuse of the process, and the cyclical rollover of the loan process and that she had "encouraged them to do the repayment in good time". Hajia Abibata Shani Mahama Zakaria pointed out the 12 percent small interest placed on the loan, and the one-month moratorium among others, as required in the repayment process for all businesses, including the small loans offered to the market women. She underscored the importance of using MASLOC to revitalize the informal sector of the national economy "We are touching on every constituency within the markets (informal sector) "Across the country, that is what we have been doing especially with the market women," she added. Touching on subsequent disbursements, she assured the women of a brighter future. "I believe that in the future when we come here, we are not going to talk about hundred people, but a bigger number." Leader of the market women, Madam Veronica Arthur, lauded MASLOC for assisting the victims with the loan initiative to rejuvenate their businesses. She commended the CEO of the financial institution for coming to the rescue of the market women and all traders who were affected by the fire disaster. Each of the fire disaster victims, received an amount of five thousand (5000) Ghana cedis to shore up their businesses and to recover from the massive lost suffered during the fire disaster. Meanwhile, Hajia Abibata Shani Mahama Zakaria has assured traders in Sekondi Takoradi and for that matter Western Region of the determination of MASLOC to improve relationships with traders and market women. She said more soft loan transactional activities were in the offing, and that could translate into increased disbursement of loans to businesses in the region. That, she cautioned, must definitely follow the actualization of repayments carried out by applicants from previous transactions as the motivation for others to attract future loans.