EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Project Brief highlights on the business case (rationale behind it), the project model and deliverables, the Program management team to set up the organisation and run the project and the cost implications.

The need for economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa is vital as over 40% of the population, or 300 million people, live on less than $1 a day. Africa is home to two-thirds of the world’s 48 poorest countries.[1]

Mavericks in Ghana is a response to a need in the Ghanaian society of lack of gratifying employment and untapped entrepreneurial resources among graduates being churned out of the tertiary schools every day. There is a total on 46 Microfinance companies currently operating in Ghana, with a gross loan portfolio of USD, 2008 123.0 million and an average number of active borrowers as at 2008 of 364,043 and depositors as 1.0million. The average loan granted in 2008 was about $266.9 and the amount deposit in 2008 came up to $126.9 million. Although these microfinance and non governmental organizations are making giant leaps in its efforts to help eradicate poverty, there are a few observations that make the need for Mavericks in Ghana more apparent:

• Most institutions target the poor who earn less than $1 a day with the aim of helping them or on short payback periods, unreasonable interest rates or applications from those willing to provide some sort of guarantee. These two extremes neglect the middle class or below middle class educated university/ college graduates who have passed through the necessary basic education needed.

• Although some NGOs provide social monitoring initiatives and training, the program is mostly targeted at providing support for credit providers and not the recipients.

• The main operations of NGOs are still run by banks with very rigid conditions for loans. This discourages