ABSTRACT
Consider this chapter as a critical assessment of the involvement of operational and donor NGOs with credit activities. It is drawn from ACORD’s 2 direct experiences with designing and implementing various micro-credit systems in 10 countries in Africa and through association with several local and international NGOs. Africa is the one place where many foreign NGOs like ACORD still operate directly in the field. Many local NGOs are more or less created by donor NGOs in their own image, or encouraged to serve as conduit for aid funds. Therefore, drawing upon the lessons of ACORD may not only be applicable to other northern donor NGOs, but to many African NGOs as well.
