How We Work Community

Your support of small loans has a much bigger impact than just on the family you’re giving a hand up to – the ripple effect of a loan can help transform whole communities.

Uniting together

Small loans are often distributed in groups, with meetings organised weekly or fortnightly. But these meetings are about a lot more than just financial transactions – they’re about helping people living in poverty know a sense of community. In loan meetings, mothers and fathers offer support to each another, encouraging one other and standing together in good times and bad. Together they share business learnings and ideas, talk about their families and plan for the future. With the vulnerability and isolation poverty brings, this solidarity can often mean just as much as the loan itself.

Employing others

As small businesses grow, some go on to employ others in order to keep up with demand. As these jobs are created, other local families are given an opportunity to leave poverty behind too – delivering goods door-to-door or helping with sewing or weaving orders.

Jag Roshani’s small loan of Rs.7000 (A$123) helped her start a business making school bags. With each bag selling for Rs.150 (A$2.65), the business has been so successful that she now employs four other people from her community in Delhi, India. 

Boosting local economies

With an increased income and therefore more money to spend on items such as food and transport, families who used to live in poverty become active participants in their local economies, benefiting the providers of those products and services, who, positively, are often microentrepreneurs themselves. By boosting local economies, microfinance benefits developing communities beyond the aid of a one-time hand-out.

Creating change

With the new sense of dignity and respect that comes from having their own business, microentrepreneurs are also able to use their influence to bring about positive changes in their communities – rallying local government for improvements to infrastructure or education and bringing local families together to take on community projects.

Having used a loan of Php.15,000 (A$374) to start a successful piggery, Shirly has become a community leader in her hometown of Aurora in the Philippines. To help her neighbours, Shirly is providing scholarships to poor children in her community as well as giving piglets to families in need, helping them start their own small businesses, too. By giving mothers like Shirly a hand up out of poverty through small loans, you can help transform whole communities.