By Lydia Adomako - Micro-Credit Program Officer 45-year-old Saudatu is a mother of six from Beposo, a small…
Small loans to advance entrepreneurship
Women start with $50 loans, and can gradually increase to $300 if needed to expand their business. Repayment rates average 98%, and the repaid loans are re-invested to offer training and financing to extend the opportunities to more women in need.
Promoting community education and ownership
Before women are granted micro-credit loans from Self-Help they must successfully complete a six-month training program teaching basic business guidelines (how to determine business income, how to make personal savings for future expenses, and the benefits of reinvesting profits into businesses) and healthy, day-to-day living strategies. Even illiterate mothers who lack formal education or collateral are able to start successful small businesses, and generate a steady source of income for their families.
Self-Help has empowered over 500 women to take control of their financial futures.
Give women the power to build businesses and provide for their families.
Investing in women makes the biggest impact
Women reinvest 90% of their income into the family, compared to 30 to 40% by men. This means women spend more on their children—food, shelter, and education—which creates long-term social and economic gains for their communities. This makes them an integral part of ending the cycle of poverty. In fact, if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farm by 20 to 30%.
90 percent
Women reinvest 90% of their income into the family, ensuring that their children are well-fed, clothed, sheltered, and able to get the education they need to break free from the cycle of poverty.
150 million
According to the FAO, if women in rural areas had access to the same technology, financial services, education, and market as men, they could increase agricultural production to feed up to 150 million hungry people.
$20 makes a difference
Every month you can provide all the necessary training and loans for a new entrepreneur to start her business. Click here to donate.
“My greatest joy from joining the program is my ability to provide health care and support for Jessica [Jessica suffers from Autism]…at first Jessica could not do a thing on her own, but now she is able to feed herself…I am confident she will continue to improve.”
Experience by Visual Logic