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Women & The World Economy: A Hopeful Future
- Nearly 90% of the world’s poorest people are women and their children. (1)
- 340 million women around the world are not expected to survive to age 40. (2)
- 50-60% of the workforce in developing countries works in the informal sector, with women comprising the overwhelming majority of that workforce. (3)
- 40-60% of a developing country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is generated in the informal sector. Example: 96% of India’s working women are in the informal sector.
- 1.2 billion people (more than 240 million families) live on less than $1 per day…2.8 billion people live on less than $2 per day. (4)
- The average GDP per capita is $390 in Ghana, $380 in Mongolia, and $100 in Ethiopia. (5)
Notes:
- Microcredit: A Commercial Model for Poverty Reduction.
- United Nations Development Program’s 1999 Human Development Report.
- Ibid.
- The World Bank.
- Ibid.
The International Alliance for Women salutes the emerging Microfinance Industry for making small loans available to impoverished women needing working capital to start a business. Access to market-based loans has dramatically improved economic opportunities for women engaged in micro-enterprises around the world. These micro-businesses now have an alternative to unofficial moneylenders who charge them usurious rates of 5 to 20 percent in interest per day.
The alternative model of credit pioneered by the Microfinance Industry represents a major breakthrough for millions of women who survive on less than $1 a day. Because credit loan collateral is a difficult requirement for a population largely denied property rights, traditional lending sources have been unavailable to most of these women. With microfinance, however, loans are made to circles of women who are jointly liable for each other's loans. Until each member has repaid her loan, no one can take out another loan. This innovative peer-lending model has a repayment rate of more than 98% which is far above the average repayment rate earned through traditional commercial lending models.
Vision and Mission
Our Vision
We envision a world where women in developing and developed countries come together to create a world of economic self-sufficiency. To accomplish this, TIAW will become an international force behind the Microfinance Industry.
TIAW will help commercialize the microloan industry to:
- Increase women’s income levels and control over their income, leading to economic independence.
- Enhance women’s contributions to household income and participation in household decisions.
- Improve attitudes toward women’s roles in their households and communities.
- Create pathways to networks and markets, providing access to information and possibilities for developing women’s economic, social and political roles.
Our Mission
To alleviate poverty and empower women through financial independence.
This mission will be accomplished by helping the non-profit lending organizations become commercially viable …i.e., by accessing lending capital in the international markets to serve micro-businesses.
Program Goal
To ensure economic self-sufficiency for women in developing countries.
Program Strategies
Financial Assistance
- Village Bank adoptions
- Lending support
- Local currency reserves and currency transfers
- Equipment donations
Management Assistance
- Internships
- Loaned executives
- Advocacy
- Alliances
Technical Assistance
- Sponsored training programs
- Technology and information transfer
Improved Board Governance
- Place women on boards of non-profit and for-profit
- organizations around the world
- Place women on the boards of microfinance institutions
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