Initiatives to Support the Advancement and Health of Women

Jennifer Schmidt, Senior Manager, FINCA InternationalAugust 4, 2010

Microfinance and Women

Status of Women Globally

• 60% of the world’s poorest people are female• Despite comprising more than 50% of the population,

women own only 1% of the world’s wealth• 55% of all children not attending school are girls• 18% of parliamentarians are women

“Development cannot be achieved if fifty percent of the population is excluded from the opportunities it brings.”

– Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator

“Gender and Poverty.” United Nations Development Programme. 2010.“Gender Equality Factsheet.” DFID. Dec. 2008.

Microfinance - Opportunity for Women

• Women comprise an estimated 67% of all microfinance clients

• Studies have shown that women are more likely to:

* Repay loans and save

* Invest earnings in their families’ health, nutrition, and education

* Participate in groups that lessen the cost of delivering small loans

• “Virtuous spiral” of economic empowerment, improved household well-being, and social and political empowerment

“Who are the clients of microfinance?” CGAP. 2010.“Gender and Rural Finance: Reaching and Empowering Women.” IFAD. Aug 2009

.

IFAD’s “Virtuous Spirals”

Women’s economic empower-

ment

Householdwell-being

Women’s social & political

empower-ment

Poverty reduction Economic growthWomen’s human

rights

Financial Services

Women’s repayment & premiums

Women’s decisions on financial management

Increased income under women’s

control

Women’s economic activity

Increased status & changing roles

“Gender and Rural Finance: Reaching and Empowering Women.” IFAD. Aug 2009.

FINCA International

FINCA’s Role

• Mission: to provide financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living

• Operates in 21 countries in Latin America, Eurasia, Africa, and the Greater Middle East

• Village bank model helps FINCA reach the most poor and rural populations

• As of April 2010, FINCA served 704,443 clients – 479,021 of whom are women (68%)

Case Studies

USDA Food for Progress in UgandaOverview

• Uganda’s HIV prevalence among highest in the world

* High percentage of single mother and non-traditional headed households

* Decreased productivity among family members

* Increased number of AIDS orphans per household

* Increased healthcare, educational, and food security costs

* Reduced household assets to pay for emergency costs

6 Average household size, typically headed by a widowed or divorced woman

1.7 Average family members lost to AIDS over 5 years

2.5 Average number of AIDS orphans being supported

<$1 Average daily income per beneficiary

USDA Food for Progress in UgandaClients

80%Clients belonging to an HIV-affected household

49%Clients with 1+ HIV-positive household members

• Over 10,000 new clients served• 98% Loan repayment rate• 38% used FINCA assistance to cover medical expenses• Clients less likely to liquidate household assets to pay for

HIV-related expenses or emergencies• School-age children more likely to attend school• FINCA’s presence helped combat the spread of HIV by

reducing poverty, promoting HIV awareness, female education, and gender equality

USDA Food for Progress in UgandaResults

Life Savings Partnership ProjectOverview

• Partnership with Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs

* Supported by the Gates Foundation• Nearly 15 percent of people in Malawi between 15 and 49 are HIV-

positive* Life expectancy is 37 years (down from 55)* Continued stigma with the illness, little social discussion, and a

traditionally subservient role among women• Goal to of expanding access to HIV prevention and behavior

change education utilizing village banking groups of female entrepreneurs

Life Savings Partnership ProjectStructure

• Peer educators received intensive training on HIV and training methodologies, then led a series of HIV-related sessions

• Piloted in 175 Village Banking Groups over 16 months in central Malawi

• Conducted a baseline and follow-up studies among treatment and control groups

Life Savings Partnership ProjectOutcome

• 400 peer educators trained• 5,600 clients educated• Participation in LSP associated

with greater:

* Knowledge

* Comfort in interacting with HIV-infected persons

* Self-efficacy• 81 “buddy group clusters”

formed to continue program activities beyond project end

FINCA’s Client Assessment Tool

FCAT Results

• Microfinance leads to job creation for women

* 1 new job is created for another individual by each FINCA client

* 17% of clients created a new business after taking a loan from FINCA

• Microfinance enables asset growth

* Helps protect women against external shocks and improves family access to basic necessities

• Village bank structure empowers women

* Peers elect women to leadership positions

* Clients experience success in their businesses

New Initiatives

New Initiatives

• Ongoing research into the link between food security and microfinance

* Study aims to determine what effect financial services have upon food security of rural and urban clients

• Girls’ savings project in Uganda

* Reducing vulnerability for adolescent girls.• Scaling up savings

* Supported by the Gates Foundation

* Mobilize $400 million in savings accounts in 10 years