Microcredit is such a simple and intelligent concept it begs the question, why did nobody think of it sooner. Well the answer to that is that they did. Bangladeshi native Mohammad Yunus, originated the concept over 30 years ago in his home country. When he discovered that the established lending institutions could not, or would not lend to unsecured borrowers, despite evidence of almost flawless repayment when he himself loaned them the money, he finally set up his own bank. Since inception the Grameen Bank has loaned in excess of $6.25 billion with a loan recovery rate of almost 98.5%.
It is credited with having assisted over 50 million Bangladeshis exit extreme poverty and played a major role in the economic transformation of the country.
Word of its success spread slowly at first, but in recent years an unstoppable momentum has been gathering. The BRAC and Grameen models are now being replicated in regions of extreme poverty around the world, such as Kosovo, Haiti, Afghanistan, Kenya, Sri Lanka. Even in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katherina.
And there is only one reason for this. Quite simply, microcredit works.
‘Microcredit’ is identified as the third and critical leg of the stool in supporting a robust solution to the end of global poverty. It now sits alongside Health and Education in terms of its importance and effectiveness in creating self-reliance for the worlds poorest.
It is Sea Changes ambition to continue to raise awareness for the powerful concept that is ‘Microcredit’ and to raise funds to support new ‘Microcredit’ projects throughout the developing world. | Why microcredit works so well? | Loans are given to groups of borrowers, who encourage each other and hold one another accountable to pay back their loans .
As a result bad debts typically run at less than 1.5%. (This is lower than most 1st world banks and approx 40% lower than traditional 3rd world lending institutions) Women have proven themselves to be the most reliable borrowers of micro credit.
Their commitment is not simply to the other members of the borrowing group, but to their family, their children. As a result the profile of borrowers is heavily biased toward women, as much as 98% in many regions .
As each micro loan is repaid the money is recycled as another loan, thus creating a model of self-funding for the micro credit lending institution. In many cases charity can destroy dignity and lead to a dependency culture. Significantly, microcredit promotes work, tiny enterprise, self-reliance and as a consequence self esteem. It has proven itself hugely effective in contributing to lifting families, communities and indeed entire societies out of extreme poverty. |
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