Plan Canada supports microfinancing to help alleviate poverty. Microfinancing provides small loans to those without access to capital, allowing people to start small businesses and become financially independent. Microfinancing has benefits like improved access to credit, higher loan repayment rates, better education and health outcomes, sustainability, and job creation. Plan Canada works with partners like Arariwa in Peru to facilitate village savings programs and bring microfinancing services to rural communities. Kiva and FINCA are also microfinancing organizations that provide loans and financial services to low-income entrepreneurs around the world.

1. Micro-
Financing

2. Plan Canada and micro financing
support
Plan is a global movement for change,
mobilizing millions of people around the world to
support social justice for children in developing
countries.
Founded in 1937, PLAN is one of the world’s
oldest and largest international development
agencies, working in partnership with millions of
people around the world to end global poverty.

3. Microfinance
Microfinance involves extending small loans,
savings and other basic financial services to people
that don’t currently have access to capital. It’s a key
strategy in helping people living in poverty to
become financially independent, which helps them
become more resilient and better able to provide for
their families in times of economic difficulty.
Considering nearly half the world survives on less
than $2 a day, microfinance is a vital solution.

4. Six benefits of microfinance:
1. Access Banks simply won’t extend loans to
those with little or no assets, and generally don’t
engage in the small size of loans typically
associated with microfinancing. Microfinancing
is based on the philosophy that even small
amounts of credit can help end the cycle of
poverty.
2. Better loan repayment rates Microfinance
tends to target women borrowers, who are
statistically less likely to default on their loans
than men. So these loans help empower
women, and they are often safer investments for
those loaning the funds.

5. 3. Extending education Families receiving
microfinancing are less likely to pull their
children out of school for economic reasons.
4. Improved health and welfare Microfinancing
can lead to improved access to clean water and
better sanitation while also providing better
access to health care.
5. Sustainability Even a small working capital
loan of $100 can be enough to launch a small
business in a developing country that could help
the benefactor pull themselves and their family
out of poverty..

6. 6. Job creation Microfinancing can help create
new employment opportunities, which has a
beneficial impact on the local economy.

7. Village Savings & Loans
WHO? Youth and adults
WHAT? A program that allows members to pool
their money and resources and invest in each
other’s initiatives, like selling rice, returning to
school or buying livestock.
WHY? These projects help people lift
themselves out of poverty by helping them
establish successful businesses. They also
teach financial literacy and reinforce the
benefits of working together to benefit everyone.

8. HOW? At each Village Savings and Loans
Association (VSLA) meeting, the group focuses on
business and loan proposals that have been put up
for consideration. They then determine which
individuals to loan money to. After a loan is given, it
must be repaid within 3 months with a small amount
of interest
COMMUNITY BUILDING
Members also give a small amount at each meeting
to a "social fund". This fund is used when someone
in the group has sudden unexpected expenses, like
medical bills, special food for a family health issue or
other emergency.

9. Plan’s involvement in Micro
financing
Hundreds of thousands of people achieve
financial stability thanks to microfinance
schemes facilitated by Plan through its partners,
helping them protect their families from
emergencies and plan for the future.
Through small loans and savings schemes,
Plan's microfinance programs offer assistance
to the very poor with a special emphasis on
access for women.

10. By providing access to financial resources and
the opportunity to accumulate savings, PLAN
microfinance schemes allow families greater
flexibility in managing their resources to become
more resilient and provide for their children.
In Peru, for example, Plan’s work through
partnerships has helped 8,000 families access
financial services and receive educational
support.

11. One partner is Arariwa, a non-governmental
organization with expertise in microfinance
projects. Together PLAN has helped bring
village banks to rural areas of the Cusco region
and complemented these services with
educational projects on business management
and children's and women's health.
http://plancanada.ca/microfinance

12. Other Micro finance institutions
KIVA
KIVA is a non-profit organization with a mission
to connect people through lending to alleviate
poverty. Leveraging the internet and a
worldwide network of microfinance institutions,
Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help
create opportunity around the world

13. Kiva envisions a world where all people - even
in the most remote areas of the globe - hold the
power to create opportunity for themselves and
others.
Kiva believes providing safe, affordable access
to capital to those in need helps people create
better lives for themselves and their families

14. Since Kiva was founded in 2005:
 1,215,780 Kiva lenders
 $600,448,550in loans
 98.79% repayment rate
KIVA works with:
 274 Field Partners
 450 volunteers around the world
 78 different countries

15. Total amount lent through Kiva: $600,448,550
Kiva Users: 1,803,808
Kiva Users who have funded a
1,215,780
loan:
Borrowers funded through Kiva: 1,392,680
Number of loans made through
Kiva:
754,788
Kiva Field Partners: 274
Countries where Kiva Field
78
Partners are located:
Repayment rate: 98.79%
Average loan size: $418.12
Average loans made per Kiva
10.14
lender:
Statistics

16. Through Labs, Kiva provides crowd-sourced capital to relieve the cost
constraints on new ideas. And together with this new breed of Kiva partners,
Kiva is testing and developing new financial products for borrowers
worldwide.
Kiva’s approach is to see what works and share the results with a global
audience. Ultimately, the hope is to get high-impact products to people who
have been too long overlooked, and demonstrate their success to the global
market.
Challenges:
Financing Agriculture: Creating flexible financing to help farmers overcome
uncertainties.
Closing the Energy Gap: Financing renewables to replace expensive dirty
and dangerous sources of energy.
Access to Education: Loans for students with promising futures but no
credit history.
Leveraging mobile technology: Lowering costs and expanding access with
mobile-based business models.
www.kiva.org

17. FINCA International
FINCA’s mission is to provide financial services to the
world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create
jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living.
FINCA’s vision is to be a global microfinance network
collectively serving more low-income entrepreneurs than
any other microfinance institution while operating on
commercial principles of performance and sustainability.
Organization
 With headquarters in Washington, DC, FINCA reaches
over 1.7 million clients through its 22 subsidiaries in
Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East and South Asia, and
Latin America. Our outreach is among the broadest and
most comprehensive of today’s microfinance
institutions.
 /

18. Approach
 When clients come to FINCA for a loan, most of them are already
micro-entrepreneurs. They have enough experience to know
that, without additional working capital, their odds of becoming or
staying profitable and productive, or of making improvements in
their lives, remain low. They are looking for a business loan,
much like any other entrepreneur, but at a micro level.
 For these small-scale businesses, even small amounts of capital
can make a dramatic difference. A business loan of a few
hundred dollars can enable micro-entrepreneurs to pay
wholesale rather than retail prices for the goods they resell, or to
buy with cash rather than on consignment, or acquire a more
modern piece of essential equipment, turning their businesses
into profitable, sustainable enterprises. This small increase in
purchasing power can have an immediate impact on a client’s
productivity and earnings. For other clients, having a safe and
trusted place to store and save their daily revenue is most
critical. All of these needs are met by FINCA.

19. FINCA provides clients with a wide range of the financial
products and services that micro-entrepreneurs need
including savings accounts; group and individual loans;
credit life, short-term disability, and hospitalization
insurance; and money transfers. These products vary by
local demand, and they are adapted to comply with local
regulations and culture. Each FINCA Subsidiary is run by
a local team of professionals with intimate knowledge of
their market, and it is this localized, client-driven approach
that has made FINCA’s global expansion possible and so
effective. FINCA is firmly committed to Client
Protection and fair practices and maintains strict policies
to ensure compliance. Our local loan officers are trained
in FINCA’s mission, and dedicated to helping clients build
successful businesses while ensuring that they are
protected from unnecessary risks.

20. FINCA providing pathways out of Poverty
http://www.fincacanada.org/