Finance

New Microfinance Program Lifts 2 Million Women Out of Poverty in South Asia in Just Three Years

A microfinance initiative backed by a coalition of NGOs and local banks has provided business loans averaging $500 to over 2 million women entrepreneurs across Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, with a 94% repayment rate. Follow-up surveys show that 78% of participants have doubled their household income, 65% have enrolled their children in school for the first time, and 40% have hired additional employees. The program is now expanding to 10 more countries.