Générose is part of the group called Girumwete and lives in Gitega. She is 48 years old and married to Athanase, a small-scale retailer. Together they have six children whose ages range from 10 to 20 years. Three of them are in school.
Générose has been selling manioc for 25 years. She is on her 20th loan from Turame. With the Kiva loan she has requested, she is going to grow her working capital and buy a large quantity of manioc for resale, so that she can earn more.
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.
Kiva’s Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower’s loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.