How it works
No mystery, no runaround. Here is exactly what happens between meeting a Washi loan officer and repaying your final instalment.
The process
Eight steps, start to finish
A loan officer comes to your community
Washi field officers work inside the areas they serve. Yours will introduce herself, explain the programme, and get to know your business and your neighbourhood — in person, not over the phone.
Your group is formed
Between 15 and 25 women from the same community come together. You should know one another and share mutual respect and confidence, because you will be guaranteeing each other.
Your group elects its leaders
Members nominate and elect a President, a Secretary and a Cashier for a one-year term. Washi does not appoint them; your group does.
You apply through your group
You request a loan through your small group leader. The request is discussed and recommended in the group meeting with the loan officer present.
We verify in person
Your loan officer visits your business and your home to confirm the business is real, viable, and able to carry the repayment. A manager then verifies independently before approving.
You are briefed before you are paid
The branch manager or a senior officer sits with all borrowers to go through client protection, financial literacy and your rights and obligations. You receive your Key Facts Statement and your passbook.
Disbursement at the branch
You come to the branch on your scheduled day with your national ID. Your identity and signature are verified, your weekly instalment is written into your passbook, and your loan is released to you personally.
Weekly meetings, weekly progress
Your first instalment falls due at the first meeting after disbursement. Each week you bring your passbook, your payment is recorded and signed in front of you, and your business keeps moving.
The group
Why we lend through groups
Because the collateral you do not have can be replaced by something you do have: standing among people who know you.
President
Speaks for the group
Arrives on time with the small group leaders, presents members' loan proposals aloud, checks that new loans are being used as agreed, and represents the group at workshops.
Secretary
Keeps the record straight
Signs in the attendance register, supports the President in organising the group, and stands in as acting President or Cashier when either is absent.
Cashier
Handles the collection
Maintains the group resolution book, collects each member's instalment, posts them individually, counts the money and hands it to the loan officer against signature.
Leadership belongs to the group
Committee members serve a one-year term, may step down at any time, and can be replaced by a two-thirds vote of the membership. Washi does not choose your leaders and cannot remove them.
Your side of the agreement
What we ask of you
Group lending only works when everyone holds up their end. These are the commitments every member makes when she joins.
Attend your weekly meeting, in person and on time
If you are seriously ill or face a genuine emergency, your spouse or another family member may bring your payment.
Pay your weekly instalment at the meeting
Payments are made at the collection centre, not to an officer at your door.
Bring your passbook every week
And check the entry after it is written, before you leave.
Use the loan for the business you named
The purpose you stated in your proposal is the purpose the money is for.
Never share or lend on your loan
The loan is yours alone, and so is the responsibility for repaying it.
Support your fellow members
Look after the women in your group and help them when they are in difficulty. That is what makes the guarantee mean something.
A note on holidays
Your schedule bends around real life
There are no group meetings on public holidays. Where an instalment falls on one, it is collected on an alternative day — and your group is told the new date in advance, never after the fact.
Questions
About groups and meetings
What if I do not know 15 other women who want to join?
Speak to your loan officer. Part of her work is helping neighbours who share a market or a trade to come together. You do not have to arrive with a group already formed.
Am I responsible if another member does not pay?
The group provides a guarantee, and members are expected to support one another. But each loan remains an individual obligation, and a member who pays reliably will not have her own next disbursement delayed because someone else has not paid.
Can I pay my instalment to the group leader instead of attending?
No. Members must come to the collection centre themselves — repayment through the group leader in place of attending is not permitted. The exception is genuine illness or emergency, when a family member may come on your behalf.
Who decides when and where we meet?
Your group, in consultation with your loan officer. The meeting happens at a specific place, on a specific day, at a specific time each week — chosen to work around your trading hours.
What happens at a meeting, exactly?
Attendance is signed, instalments are collected and posted individually, the total is confirmed aloud against the cash, and entries are made in every passbook and in the resolution book. New members, loan proposals and withdrawals are also recorded there.
Do I need my national ID?
Yes — bring it to the branch on your disbursement day. Your identity is verified before any money changes hands, which protects you as much as it protects us.
Ready to start?
Find your nearest branch and ask to speak to a loan officer about forming or joining a group.