To provide financial services (savings, credit, microinsurance) and education to active people excluded from formal financial systems. The target group is mainly rural microenterpreneurs with a positive discrimination towards women. Background and Main Challenges: Based on the results of a feasibility study (1999) analyzing the demand and supply of financial services in Northern Namibia, the Namibian Ministry of Trade and Industry, GTZ and FIDES initiated the Ohangwena Pilot Project in November 2001. The first loans were granted in May 2002.
 
The main challenges of the Project are to: bridge the gap between poor but active people and the financial market and help rural communities find their place in a market-oriented economy; support the development of income generating activities in the Ohangwena region and encourage self-employment; work with a sustainable institution-building approach; and lay the ground for future extension to a significant scale.