More than half a million Ethiopians are now registered as beneficiaries of micro-credit schemes, the pro-government Walta Information Centre reported on Sunday. Dr Woldai Ameha, the director of the Ethiopian Association of Small-Scale Credit and Saving Institutions, said 19 credit institutions recognised by the National Bank of Ethiopia had this year alone loaned some 300 million birr (US $35 million) to borrowers. Woldai said the credit services had been particularly targeting people in rural areas, and that as a result as many as 95 percent of the borrowers were peasants. Forty-seven percent of borrowers were women, he said. As well as receiving credits, recipients are also given training on ways to make profitable use of their credits.
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