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Make a loan, change a life Who are CARE international and lendwithcare CARE International is a poverty fighting charity who were formed at the end of the second world war. We respond to many issues which effect people in developing countries, including responding to emergencies and more longterm issues such as access to finance One of our key aims is to help people help themselves One of the ways we do this is through our microfinance lending initiative – lendwithcare.org 1 July 17, 2015 What is microfinance? • Microfinance is the provision of financial services for lowincome people. This includes micro-loans, savings, microinsurance, money transfers and training. • Usually provided through specialist microfinance institutions (MFIs) rather than commercial banks. • UN Year of Microcredit in 2005 and Muhammad Yunus and Grameen received Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Why is it important? Despite growing international attention, 2.5 billion people, most of whom live in developing countries, still lack access to basic financial services At CARE we believe that fair & effective financial services are central to addressing poverty And we have seen in the two decades we have been working in microfinance that providing people with appropriate financial tools & training can have a transformative effect on their lives – helping the poorest earn a living, grow businesses & create new jobs If not delivered well, it can worsen economic and social situations and result in, for example, over-indebtedness and worsening gender relations What is lendwithcare? Lendwithcare.org is an initiative from poverty-fighting charity, CARE International UK, which allows individuals to lend small amounts of money (microloans) to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them grow or expand a small business. Individuals visit the website – www.lendwithcare.org - and choose an entrepreneur to lend to. They can lend as little as £15 or the full loan. Rather than receiving a one-off donation, the entrepreneurs pay the loan back to you, using income from their growing business. And once repaid, you can choose to re-lend to another entrepreneur, donate the repayments to CARE or withdraw the money. What is lendwithcare? • The entrepreneurs repay the loan back to you, then you can choose to re-lend to another entrepreneur, donate the repayments to CARE or withdraw the money. • We work through local MFI partners in Togo, Benin, Zambia, Malawi, Pakistan, Philippines, Cambodia, and Ecuador (with strong social development missions who provide more than just finance). • lendwithcare.org video (full 5 mins) How it Works What are the benefits? Supports small businesses, creates employment and generates wealth as well as promotes self-reliance and independence in poor communities. Very transparent - all funds go to the MFI and to cover the loan of the person you choose to support. Lenders receive their money back and the funds keep revolving and continuing to help people. Case studies: entrepreneurs Yawa Dotse, Togo, £200 loan Case studies: entrepreneurs Christina, Philippines, £1,700 loan Supporting female entrepreneurs Celebrity ambassadors Alastair Stewart (ITN) Kate Garraway (ITV) Deborah Meaden (BBC) Rotary International Support We already receive some FANTASTIC support from Rotary International in the UK – 66 clubs How Rotary can help • You can support lendwithcare with a donation • You can open a lendwithcare account in your Club name • Encourage other Rotarians to join lendwithcare as individual lenders • Talk about your activities/loans on social media, in newsletters on your Club websites • You could also set up a lendwithcare group for your District • The individual clubs can join the group so you can see how many loans your Rotary District has made and compare it against other Districts Group lending Group lending allows you to set up a group and raise loans together. Through the group lending feature you can pool your funds and compare your impact against other lending groups Visit: lendwithcare.org/groups Lenders say … I think this is a brilliant, really empowering way of helping some one in the developing world. This really is the gift that keeps on giving. In the spirit of Rotary International we aim to help those less fortunate than ourselves and by helping this cause we are giving these people a chance to help themselves improve their circumstances with dignity. Just made a loan to a Cambodian farmer -she rocks! I like the idea of leveraging the internet to get money directly to where it's needed in the world, but supervised through a credible organisation like CARE International. It's a great scheme! Highly recommend it to EVERYONE! It costs so little to help others. PLEASE do it! Visit www.lendwithcare.org today!