Greg Casagrande, Mo'ale Finau, Amy Lofgren and staff of the SPBD Ha'apai

SPBD Microfinance has opened a new office in Pangai, Ha'apai, its third branch in Tonga, providing unsecured credit to low-income families.

At the opening on October 2, Greg Casagrande, President and Founder of SPBD Microfinance Network, said they were making a commitment to the women of Ha'apai to provide them financial services such as savings accounts and loans for building their businesses, improving their homes and to cover school fees for their children and life insurance.

He said that SPBD members had committed to starting and running micro businesses such as weaving, fishing, canteens, retail stores and growing fruits and vegetables. Members also committed to making improvements in their homes and sending all their children to school through Form 7.

People's Representative from Ha'apai, Mo'ale Finau, in his keynote address said that SPBD was serving those in need of assistance even though others had overlooked their need.

During its three years in Tonga, SPBD had provided no-fee savings accounts to over 6,000 women, provided access to unsecured credit to over 6,500 loans for business development, housing improvements and school fees, access to life insurance and disbursed over $7 million pa'anga to low-income families in Tonga.

The opening of the office was attended by new SPBD members, the Ha’apai staff; branch manager Carolyn Fe'iloaki, center manager Fanga'afua Kulitapa, administration assistant Kalisi Veilofia, and Amy Lofgren, general manager SPBD Tonga as well as members of the business community and representatives from government ministries.