Last Week as part of our Inspirational Women series, we explored the hugely successful, diverse & varied life (thus far) of Deborah Meaden – Entrepreneur, Businesswoman & Philanthropist (1). One of the many foundations & charities Deborah supports, is the MicroLoan Foundation.
Global poverty affects some 689 million people according to the latest data from worldvision.org. Children & young people account for nearly two-thirds of the world’s poor & women represent the majority of those living in poverty across the globe (2)
For women in poverty, the challenges are extreme. With global access to healthcare, clean water & regular food being a fraction of the daily challenge’s women face; they also statistically see one in thirteen of their children die before the age of five.
Poverty is everywhere, in every country. However, extreme poverty is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, where about 40% of the region live on less than $1.90 per day. (2)
International Aid & charitable handouts can help in extreme cases, but these are only immediate solutions to a growing problem. Communities, in particular women in poverty, need the ability to work their way out of their situation & be able to support themselves & their families in the long term.
The MicroLoan Foundation is an organisation who are seeking to give those in poverty the skills, tools & the know how to work their way out of poverty & into a better life for them & their families.
Over time the money they generate from their own effort helps to ensure food security, improve housing, access to healthcare, & an education for their children. (2)
The MicroLoan Foundation encourages those in their programme to make savings & have contingencies to protect themselves if for example their crop fails, extreme weather affects their ability to work & against illness. With 99% of the MicroLoan Foundation loans being paid back in full; this enables them to use the money again & again to support more people in need.
How does the MicroLoan loan work?
Microfinance is a type of banking which provides financial services to low income individuals or groups of people who would otherwise have no access to finance. (2) With loans starting from as little as £25.00, the MicroLoan Foundation enables women to start their own small businesses. Some sell fruits & vegetables, others second hand clothing, fish, cosmetics, etc & the list goes on.
The long term goals of the MicroLoan Foundation are to ensure that women who take advantage of their Microfinance opportunities, are educated & helped along the way. With so many women in poverty being illiterate & or having only a basic education; the MicroLoan Foundation ensures they all receive training in how to manage their money & make the very best of the opportunities it comes with.
The MicroLoan Foundation believe that their loan model is not a quick fix & it should be seen as a long term & sustainable solution. Alongside this, the MicroLoan Foundation believe that long term support from them is the key to assisting the 35,000 women a year they loan to.
Some may question if the loan scheme is a realistic way for women in poverty to support themselves. Research shows that women are much more altruistic with their incomes. According to research by the Harvard Review, women reinvest 90% of every dollar that they earn back into their families’ education, health and nutrition. (2)
Success stories.
One of the thousands of success stories from the MicroLoan foundation, is the story of Mercy & her husband Paul.
Life hasn’t been kind to Mercy and her husband Paul. Mercy lost both her parents when she was 8 years old and had to drop out of school. Paul went to school until the age of 11 but he too lost his mother in a tragic accident. His father passed away a few years later leaving him an orphan like Mercy.
Mercy and Paul met at a young age and had married and welcomed their first child before Mercy turned 18. A year later, Mercy and Paul faced devastation when their second child died of Malaria.
In 2016, Mercy joined a MicroLoan group and started a business selling dried fish and has gone from strength to strength since then.
Mercy’s village is located 45km from the nearest town, Kasungu. Every week Mercy travels down the long, bumpy road to Kasungu to buy fish in the market which she then sells in her village.
Despite the hardships she has faced, Mercy now has the chance to reach her full potential as a successful entrepreneur.
Mercy’s husband Paul grows vegetables which helps feed the family. They sell the surplus at the stall for extra income and share responsibility for the business, working together to maximise profits. (3)
How has the Covid19 Pandemic affected the work of the MicroLoan Foundation?
Despite the challenges posed by the Covid19 pandemic, the MicroLoan Foundation has been able to continue to support women in Malawi, Zambia & Zimbabwe. However, women across the three regions having already reported having been hungry at times in the year when they would not normally be so; have also had to contend with borders closing & an advancing South African variant of the Covid19 virus.
The MicroLoan Foundation is still visiting areas where social distancing is safe & as of September 2020, MicroLoan made the decision to accelerate the introduction of mobile money.
As of December 2020, the MicroLoan Foundation have been conducting a pilot study in Lilongwe with telecommunications company Airtel to train their staff & women on a mobile money banking application. Mobile money is efficient, time-saving & COVID-19 safe, reducing the need for cash-handling & frequent face-to-face meetings. (4)
In response to the challenges the women in the MicroLoan community have faced during the Covid19 pandemic, they have responded rapidly to support their beneficiaries, determined to help as many women’s businesses navigate the increasingly devastating economic climate in each country. MicroLoan have rescheduled loans, disbursed further loans & in some cases written off loans to try & support women as they navigate their way through this challenging time. (4)
Written & cited by Katy-Jane Mason for & on behalf of Virtually Smart.
- https://virtuallysmartltd.com/virtually-smart-inspirational-women-series-deborah-meaden-backing-excellence/
- https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts.
- https://www.microloanfoundation.org.uk/mercy/
- https://www.microloanfoundation.org.uk/covid-update/
