Microfinance Rural Outreach

In developing countries, families living in rural and remote areas are often the poorest. Geographically isolated, they’re also less likely to have access to any interventions or opportunities to leave poverty behind. The nearest city may be days away.

But it’s often these families who need us the most. Using technology and innovative approaches to operations, you can help bring a hand up to families in rural areas, no matter the distance.

Here’s how…

• Hub-and-spoke operations establish ‘hub’ microfinance branches in trade centres and surround them with smaller, lower-cost ‘spoke’ branches in nearby rural communities. Whether full service, mobile or satellite kiosks, these spoke branches bring hope and opportunities to families who have no other way to get ahead.
• Mobile banking vans travel into remote areas to bring microfinance to rural communities, giving a hand up to people like Amos.
• Electronic banking including mobile banking, ATMs and point-of-sale devices allow rural families to conveniently access funds in a variety of easy-to-reach locations. Outreach is extended without the cost of establishing full branches.

Since accessing a micro loan to rent a tractor, small loan client Leela has more than doubled their income. Today, her agricultural micro business is thriving in Dungarpur in north-west India, and she has grown a profitable business with just one small loan of Rs. 35,000 (A$658).