Microenterprise
Giving Women Credit
In Latin America, microfinance organizations are giving some women a better future.
Launch Slideshow
More Than Microfinance
by Masum Momaya, Curator
In economics, people frequently use terms such as “micro” or “macro.” Today, “micro” usually refers to microcredit or microfinance, terms that have become synonymous with the popular practice of giving small loans to people--most often women--to start businesses and make money for themselves and their families. “Macro” sometimes means large sums of money, but it also refers to the high-level reform of institutions that have deep impacts on the economy, such as banks and governments. A look at microfinance’s successes and shortcomings shows that macro-level structural reforms--not just more microfinance--are needed to help overcome poverty. Read more
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Kashf Foundation targets women from low income communities in Pakistan, offering business loans and home improvement loans as a way of alleviating poverty.
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Read the inspiring story of Goretti Nyabendi from Burundi, Africa, was able to change her life through work she started using a microloan.
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Microfinance has worked in Latin America, but according to Michael Glenwick, it is also letting governments off the hook from providing for their citizens.
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Susan F. Feiner and Drucilla K. Barker critique the Nobel Prize-winning microcredit guru Muhammad Yunus for what they describe as his neoliberal approach to women's poverty.
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The economic relationship between Africa and China is full of potential successes and pitfalls, says Hafsat Abiola, founder of China Africa Bridge. But now, both partners have a secret weapon: women, their greatest untapped resource.
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CARE shares a unique microfinance story: Women in Malawi start their own bank and fund each other's entrepreneurial activities.
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Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva.org, the world's first microlending Web site, speaks about the power of the Internet, microlending and helping small businesses, $25 at a time.
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In Latin America, the microfinance and women's development organization Pro Mujer is pioneering an integrated approach that combines lending with health care, education and other services.
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An international relations student shares lessons she learned first-hand about how microcredit can impact women.
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The revolution is not yet complete. Microfinance has helped harness women's economic power, but women must also be allowed to operate in the economy at a macro level, writes Zainab Salbi.
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