THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN FULLY FUNDED!
Thank You for your support!

The Facts about Microcredit.

Microcredit loans are small sums of money loaned in the context of a social network that supports women who want to start businesses and become more self-sufficient. These loans of $100 change the lives of women and their families in very profound ways.

Each $100 donation will provide a loan to one of the women listed below who are involved in this bank.  Each woman who chooses to get involved in the program must attend 8 lessons on business management, and submits a business plan.  Women in the bank hold themselves and each other responsible by cross guaranteeing the loan payments in their group or others in the same group if necessary.  Women are expected to make all of their loan payments on time.

FFW has set up Centre Advisors for the women to come to for advice.

For every woman empowered by this project, five family members are also directly affected.

Using the Nobel Prize-winning Grameen method, the Foundation provides lessons in financial and business management during the 25-week loan cycle. Meeting weekly, the women support each other and learn while they make loan payments and deposits to their personal savings accounts. The loan repayments rate is 99%.

Each woman involved in this bank:

• Acquires essential capital with which to start a business
• Creates a business plan
• Uses her loan to buy materials and equipment or promote her business
• Establishes a personal savings account, probably her first ever
• Qualifies for a renewal loan, perhaps at a higher level
• Successfully builds her business, perhaps hiring employees
• Gains education in financial and business matters
• Builds support among other women in her borrowing circle

As each borrower builds her business, she improves living standards for herself and an average of five other people, primarily family members.

Microcredit offers women in poverty the opportunity to improve life for themselves and their families. Micro-loans make a huge difference!

With her business plan and this tiny loan a woman can:

• Buy beads and make jewelry
• Buy cornmeal, meat and make tamales
• Purchase grain in large quantities to repackage in small amounts to sell at the market
• Get a phone and become the pay phone for her neighbors
• Buy supplies and start a hair-braiding business, eventually reaching her goal of buying her own salon business

As you can see below, each woman listed has stated the business she wishes to be involved in.