You are here » Home » Telling Our Story
Case Study
Timor-Leste works to
improve the poor's
access to credit
Supporting Small Businesses
Photo: MFWG
Lola Dos Reis and Jose Gusmao, sign
Timor-Leste’s first code of conduct.
The code of conduct,
reporting format and
performance monitoring
system have enhanced
transparency and promoted
accountability.
Challenge
Timor-Leste is the world's newest nation and one of the
poorest, with 41 percent of its people earning less than 55
cents a day. After three centuries of Portuguese colonialism, 25
years of military occupation by Indonesia and the violence,
displacement and destruction that surrounded the 1999
referendum, Timor-Leste faces serious challenges to
rebuilding its economy. Most Timorese rely on simple
farming to survive and supplement their income by
operating small businesses outside the formal economy.
Employment opportunities are limited.
Initiative
USAID supported a small grant program that helped
international and Timorese organizations form a group to
improve the poor's access to credit. Because consistency
and cooperation are so important to the initiative, the group
conducted a three-week workshop to ensure that members
and international donors would work from the same
standpoint and with the same information. The workshop
defined the group's goals, developed performance standards,
and created a code of conduct, format for reporting and system
for monitoring performance.
Results
Under the new practices adopted by the group, lenders are now
held accountable to fixed standards. In addition, the group's
system for monitoring performance allows organizations
involved in the sector to measure the results of their efforts and
benchmark their results against others.
The code of conduct, reporting format, and performance
monitoring system have enhanced transparency and promoted
accountability. They also enable creditors to collaborate on
approaches that alleviate poverty and promote sustainable
economic growth in the world's newest nation.
Print-friendly version of this page (244kb - PDF)
Click here for high-res photo
Back to Top ^ | 
RSS Feed for Recent Telling Our Story Updates
