News
New video: Sohrini
Sohrini is a grocer and goes from door to door every day to sell her goods. Together with her husband, who is a bamboo weaver, she works hard to be able to offer her two children a perspective for the future and to finance their schooling. With the help [...]
Increased satisfaction due to own online shop sales
Nurul Aini is aged 22 and lives together with her mother-in-law and her two daughters aged 7 and 2 on the island of Lombok in Indonesia. Nuruls husband is in Malaysia as a guest worker. He´s working in the palm oil production industry for 5 years. Nuruls husband lives [...]
How to celebrate? – Christmas in the Philippines
A colorfully decorated fir tree, snow on the roofs, contemplative music, the whole family at a beautifully decorated table and presents for young and old - that's how Christmas looks like for most of us. But do all people in this world celebrate Christmas and is it the same [...]
Within the Pandemic – Newly granted microloans in Lombok
We were able to grant new microloans in Lombok after several months of delay with payouts. Our microloan participants in Indonesia´s island Lombok are severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and its restrictions on daily life. Our new microloan participants consist of 7 small business owners which are [...]
How mobile payments are helping our entrepreneurs during quarantine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our participants are finding that Gcash Send Money is the easiest and fastest way to transfer money, whether it's to send or remit money to loved ones or to make payments to online merchants or other small and medium businesses. Through Gcash, our participants can [...]
Virtually Connected: First Webminar held in the Philippines
The Corona crisis is also driving the digitalization of our processes and activities at GMI and our partner organization Project Life. In addition to enabling online banking, the first official webinar was held on October 5, 2020 with nine of our Philippine microcredit borrowers. For two and a half hours, [...]
International Volunteer’s Day
"Without a team of volunteers, our work in Southeast Asia would not be possible," says Tobias Schüßler, founder of Global Micro Initiative e.V. The "International Day of Volunteers for Economic and Social Development", also known in Germany as the "International Volunteer Day", takes place on December 5 of each year. [...]
Indonesia: Digital Opportunities for all Participants
Global Micro Initiative´s microloans in South East Asia were paid out by cash. This method of granting a loan isn't only complex but also impossible due to the lockdowns of the ongoing pandemic. Tobias is the founder of GMI and tried to find a way for supporting small businesses during [...]
Interview with Tobias
People who have to live in and from garbage - At the age of 18, after graduating from high school, Tobias spent two years with an aid organization in Southeast Asia. In the slums of Manila and Olongapo, he had his first contact with extreme poverty: people who fought over [...]
Interview Marion
"We love what we do and we take our commitment very personally" Marion - Co-Founder and Member of the Board September 2014: The young student and Tobias got to know each other during their joint study time in Heilbronn in the course "International Business Administration - Intercultural Studies". While learning [...]
Interview Silvia
"Volunteering is an integral part of my life." Silvia - Co-Founder and Member of the Board There are few GMI members, donors or GMI volunteers who have not received emails or letters from Silvia. As a board member, she is responsible for bookkeeping, public relations and correspondence with donors and [...]
Romagyn
Place: Baloy Beach, Olongapo City, Philippines Age: 37 Business: Sari Sari Shop / Canteen Loan: 87 EUR/ 5,000 PHP The sun is shining and even in the shades of the palm trees it's 30 degrees. There isn’t a soul in sight. All you hear is the sound [...]
Maria Romina
Place: Zambales, Philippines Age: 22 Business: Secondhand Shop Loan: 87 EUR/ 5,000 PHP Large amounts of water are required in the production of new garments. Another part of the water resources is heavily polluted by textile production. In addition, according to WWF, the clothing and textile industry [...]
Meet our Volunteer: Anja
Our author Anja schould already be known to our dililgent readers. Anja has been writing program participants' success stories and other stories for our website for nearly four years, making her the longest time volunteering at GMI. During this time, she has been able to make valuable contributions and gather [...]
Update: a bank account for all participants
Unser neues Großprojekt „Ein Bankkonto für alle“ ist gestartet. Wir sind froh, dass die ersten drei Kleinunternehmerinnen aus Indonesien nun Besitzerinnen eines Bankkontos sind. Unser Digital Ambassador, Rizal, berichtet von dem Prozedere und den dabei entstandenen Herausforderungen: „Es kamen einige Schwierigkeiten bei der Eröffnung der Konten und des mobilen Bankings [...]
International Day of Coffee
"25 years ago, my father brought the first coffee seeds, Robusta Kantim, to our village of Beririjarak. He had participated in government training courses for coffee and cocoa farmers and had started growing Robusta. Five years later, the cultivation of Arabica was added.” Sopian, one of our small entrepreneurs from [...]
50 % on top of your Donation!
"Using digital payment options to fight poverty" is the motto of our new donation campaign. Our goal: We would like to give more than 100 small entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia the chance for a better and self-determined future through access to digital payment and sales opportunities. Help to open up [...]
Update from Indonesia
Our aim to open a bank account for all of our microloan participants is progressing during September. The representatives of our partner organization “Gema Alam” regularly visit our microloan participants. During these visits our participants aquire knowledge for the use and “risks” of owning a bank account. To our regret [...]
Anto
Place: Pringgasela, East-Lombok, Indonesia Age: 50 Business: Bakulan (Selling door to door) Loan: 58 € Inaq Anto lives together with her family in a small village located in Pringgasela which is located in the east of Lombok. Inaq has four children and is currently married for the [...]
Success Story: Susana
Susana hat schon immer hart gearbeitet und war unternehmerisch aktiv. Neben Polvoron, einem weichen und krümeligen Schmalzgebäck, welches ursprünglich aus Spanien kommt, verkaufte sie auch Atchara, eine Gurke, die aus unreifer Papaya geschält wird. Beides sind sehr bekannte und beliebte Spezialitäten auf den Philippinen. Mit dieser Geschäftsidee konnte sie ihre [...]
Philippines: Trainings paused until further notice
Unfortunately, the situation in the region around Olongapo in the Philippines, which was heavily affected by Corona, has hardly improved in recent months. For this reason, the authorities have ordered that training courses can only take place digitally until at least the end of the year. Since a digital format [...]
Update: Lorenas Piggery
Lorena was given a loan last October 4, 2019; her plan was to start a piggery business with only one gilt (female pig). She used the money that she received from us through breeding it and providing feeds. After 6 months of taking care of her pig she was able [...]
Corona Update
The corona virus also impacts our partner organizations and project participants in South East Asia. In Indonesia, a national emergency has been declared. In the Philippines, President Duterte imposed a curfew on the entire country. In Thailand, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency. No matter what terms are [...]
Networking Event in Lombok
Through microcredits and training, we at GMI want to help people in Southeast Asia live a better and more self-determined life. With this financial support, our participants are able to become financially independent and to further their education. But what happens after a microcredit is granted? Borrowers are not on [...]
Protective Equipment against Covid
Fear of the coronavirus-induced disease COVID-19 and the protection of the Filipino population has led President Duterte to impose a strict curfew on the country. This also affects the work of our Philippine partner organization Project Life Subic. As a specially certified training centre for industrial seamstresses, Project Life Subic [...]