A world without extreme poverty is possible. It starts with mothers.

A mother is the backbone of any family. For families in extreme poverty, a mother is most often the reason the family subsists and survives at all. Mothers in the developing world scrape together an existence that keeps their children alive and their families as intact and as safe as possible in perilous circumstances.

Lifting families out of extreme poverty – and keeping them out – begins by investing in mothers.

I’ve seen this time and again in India with Opportunity International Australia. When we loan a very small amount of money – say, $70 – to a mother who has nothing, she knows how to use it to make the biggest difference to her family. She invests in something that will bring ongoing returns to her family: a corner shop, a sewing machine or animals to breed. She creates an income-stream that sustains her family. She pays back the loan and often is able to borrow again and grow her business.

But the most important dividend goes to her children over their lifetime. Not only does a mother know how to care for her children’s immediate needs, such as food or shelter, but she also knows that educating her children will be the most significant investment she can make. As one mother, a rag-picker in the slums of Mumbai, said to me, “I want my children to work in an office when they grow up. If they go to school, they don’t have to be rag-pickers. They will have a better life.”

The greatest untapped resource on the planet today is the instinctive know-how, energy, and love of mothers in the developing world. As an investment class, their track record is proven, with a 98% repayment rate and millions of families whose lives have been transformed through Opportunity. Investing in a mother is the wisest financial decision we can make.