About Us

Who Are We

ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

The Financial Access for Rural Markets, Smallholders and Enterprise (FARMSE) Programme is a seven-year nationwide development programme implemented by the Ministry of Finance, Economic, Planning and Development from 2018 to 2025. The programme supports household economic development through access to financial services that are appropriate to each socioeconomic level of poverty.

What We Do

GOAL

The programme goal is to reduce poverty, improve livelihoods and enhance the resilience of rural households on a sustainable basis.

DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE

To increase access to, and use of, a range of sustainable financial services by rural households and micro, small, and medium enterprises.

How Farmse Works

  • Provision of support to Financial Service Providers (FSPs) to develop demand driven simple to use, low transaction cost savings and loan products, highly suitable for low income rural households.
  • Provision of support for value chain development to smallholders and the extremely poor to create employment in the rural areas.
  • Supports creation of conducive environment and strengthening of institutional framework for rural finance.

Programme Targeting

1. FARMSE is using the country’s population poverty levels as defined and adopted by the Government of Malawi’s National Social Protection Programme in which a socio-economic analysis of the available data broadly categorizes poor rural Malawian households into the following five categories:

 

 

1. Ultra poor but labour's constrained

2. Ultra poor but non-labour constrained

3. Poor but food secure

4. Vulnerable to poverty

5. Resilient to poverty

2. FARMSE targeting also considers the overall goal of the program which is to enhance the resilience of rural households o n a sustainable basis through implementation of the following three components:

(a) Ultra-poor graduation upscaling:

This component’s objective will be achieved by providing support to the ongoing
government’s efforts in developing and delivering effective poverty graduation
programmes in rural areas.

(b) Support to Financial Innovation and Outreach:
The component’s objectives will be achieved through a set of two sub components:

i. Support to Community Based Financial Organization (CBFO)
ii. Supportto Innovation and Outreach Facility (IOF)

(c ) Strategic Partnerships, Knowledge Generation, and Policy:
The component’s objectives will be achieved through the following two subcomponents:
 
i. Support for Poverty Graduation Policy and Systems.
ii. Support for development and/or review of broader and inclusive Rural
Finance Policies and Strategy.

FARMSE TEAM

Dixon Ngwende

Programme Coordinator

Sam Elisa

Financial Controller

Manuel Mang’anya

M&E specialist

Rodgers Mbekeani

RMF Specialist

Alfret Kamenya

Procurement Specialist

O’Brien Mandala

Ultra-Poor Graduation Specialist

Golie Nyirenda

KM& C
Specialist

Raphael Nkane

Grants Management Officer

Sam Somanje

Accounting
Officer

Yamikani Mzumara

Information Management Officer

Rhoda Chisuwo

Administrative Assistant