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Global Connections For The Greater Good
Microenterprise funding is one way that visionary Atlanta women are helping low-income women around the world take a step toward self-sufficiency and empowerment.
by Myra McElhaney
May 1, 2006
S elling papayas, cooking tortillas and raising pigs are examples of simple businesses impoverished women in developing countries rely on to support their families.
If these women want to expand their businesses, maybe to buy a
wheelbarrow to carry their fruit to market or to purchase supplies for cooking, they can't simply
go to the bank or traditional lending source. Collateral for a loan is a difficult requirement for
women in areas where they are largely denied property rights. The only resource these women have
for capital is unofficial money lenders who charge usurious rates of five to 20 percent a day. The
International Alliance of Women (TIAW) through its Microenterprise Development Program offers
another alternative.
TIAW is a global umbrella organization uniting women's associations for economic empowerment and advancement of women around the world. Last spring, Patricia Foley Hinnen, director of this Microenterprise Development program traveled from Colorado to talk to local TIAW affiliates, The Georgia Executive Women's Network (GEWN) and the Atlanta Women's Network (AWN) about TIAW's international campaign to raise funds for 25 Village Banks during the organizations 25 th anniversary year.
Citing astounding statistics of the 2.8 billion people who live on less than $2 a day and the 1.2 billion who live on less than $1 a day, Hinnen shared stories of individual women whose lives had been dramatically changed by the microenterprise loans provided by TIAW's Village Bank program.
Both GEWN and AWN committed to fund village banks. “We wanted to participate in this opportunity to make a difference in women's lives,” says Kathy Wilson-Chu, a director with BellSouth and president of GEWN. “Our members want to give back and this project has a global impact. A bank is a tangible result that we can point to as something our organization has created.”
Kay Leaumont, a partner with Gifford, Hillegass & Ingwersen P.C. in Atlanta, was president of TIAW in 2000 when the Microenterprise Development Program was developed. She says, “When professional women come together around a social goal and a social good, we meet people who share our values and who share our global outlook. That's good for business, friendship and the world.”& amp; amp; lt; /p>
TIAW partners with Microfinance Institutions in developing countries to establish village banks that extend small micro credit loans. Banks, which are not a physical place but rather in the business of providing loans, use a peer lending model. Groups of borrowers act collectively serving as guarantors for the loan to be repaid. These women are often illiterate and enter into an agreement by signing with their thumb print. Loans, which are usually under $100, allow women to generate income and provide for their families. As the money is repaid it recycles to other borrowers in the community. The repayment rate is an amazing 98 percent. As these women increase their income they can better provide for the health and education of their children. As their businesses grow they employ others in the community which helps more families and strengthens the economy of the village.
Rochele Hirsch, CEO & founder of CommExpress International Inc., and president of AWN saw people living in extreme poverty when she lived and worked abroad. Hirsch witnessed first-hand how an increase in income raises people's viewpoint of themselves and what they can do. “The ability for a woman to create a source of income for herself and her family is the route to making significant change in the world,” says Hirsch.
“To invest in a woman and her business is the best investment you can make to alleviate world poverty,” says Linda Muir, an Atlanta attorney who is Of Counsel for The Saylor Law Firm, LLP and serves as TIAW's Vice President of Programs. “Through this program we are improving economies one borrower at a time, one woman at a time, one community at a time.”
