The Good Update - December 2023
Dear Good Return Supporters,
We hope your year has brought you joy and inspiration, and that you will be able to enjoy some rest as it draws to a close. We have just published our Annual Report and it was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the past year of impact, but also to reflect upon our 20 year journey.
Inside you'll see a timeline that shows the major milestones of Good Return: from our first microfinance and financial literacy programs in Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, to our expansion into the Pacific, the launch of our loan program and Impact Investment Fund and most recently, the start of our Indigenous Women's Entrepreneurship program. Along the way we have reached over 5 million people through our work to build financial skills, confidence and stronger livelihoods and futures.
This giving season, we are encouraging our community to consider a Good Return gift card. Our gift cards enable the recipient to make a loan to an entrepreneur in our region - after one year, their loan will be repaid and they can choose to continue to be a Good Return lender or donate to support a training activity. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving! !
Thank you for being part of Good Return and our work in 2023.
Warm regards,
Shane Nichols, CEO
The gift that keeps on giving
A Good Return gift card gives the recipient the chance to lend to a woman entrepreneur.
The loan will help a woman build her business and livelihood - it could help repair a leaky roof, add stock to her shop or buy new seeds for her farm. Once the loan is repaid, the gift card recipient can choose to re-lend to another entrepreneur or donate to support a training activity. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
Buy your gift card here.
Soccer and financial inclusion prove a winning combination
During last year’s FIFA World Cup, Good Return joined forces with the Central Bank of Solomon Islands to run a campaign on financial skills and money safety. Taking advantage of the huge crowds watching the games online and on TV, we ran a series of ads featuring local actors and bank staff with messages on borrowing money, saving and budgeting.
We conducted recall research 10 weeks after the campaign. Of a total of 232 survey responses, a staggering 228 (98%) recalled the campaign content. An encouraging outcome for the Good Return team was that the survey respondents had a very good memory of the key messages from the campaign with the most common takeaways being; it is good to save money to meet future needs, and being mindful of how money is spent can help you save for the future. Read more about this successful campaign in our blog.
Shaping the future of finance in Cambodia
Good Return’s Responsible Inclusive Finance Academy (RIF Academy) is an innovative e-learning platform delivering courses to the financial sector. Since launching, we have trained over 5000 financial staff on the core principles of social inclusion, including client protection, monitoring and evaluation, social performance, staff capacity and inclusive finance.
We are now trialling a free version of the RIF course platform, and targeting finance students who are driven to use finance for good. Our team in Cambodia recently presented the courses to a group of 113 Cambodian students. “I was impressed in how excited the students were to combine their financial studies with social change”, says Pisey, RIF Academy e-course developer. “They are very motivated to build their skills so they can help vulnerable people in Cambodia access financial services.”
New experts on the ground for Good Return
Two new Good Return team members are already making waves in their local work, and bring with them a wealth of experience in social change and development.
Ayu Bulan is our Indonesia Program Coordinator, and while based in Jakarta, she will be travelling across the country meeting with our current and potential partners. Ayu started her career at an Indonesian NGO working on projects aiming to empower the underprivileged and marginalised, and has since worked in microfinance and monitoring and evaluation.
“Good Return's work holds great significance for me as I am passionate about making positive changes for women's rights and opportunities in Indonesia,” says Ayu.
Sanjeeb Panthee is our CAFE Nepal Training Coordinator and, since joining us, has already met with the President of Nepal on behalf of Good Return AND trekked to Solukhumbu to meet with women’s savings groups! Sanjeeb has worked in the training and development sector for more than a decade, with a range of government agencies, private sector and development partners.
“In Nepal, I have seen how reliant families are on remittance payments”, says Sanjeeb. “To achieve sustainable development we need to diversify the economy, and we also need to ensure local families can manage their money well. This is why I am so driven to deliver the CAFE financial training program.“
Welcome to Ayu and Sanjeeb!