Mircrofinance

http://practicalaction.org/publishing/Abstract%20Dicht670#Chapter_1
http://www.microfinance.li/microfinance-helps-women/

Not everyone has the opportunity to gain access to certain bank loans. Gender inequality has made it even tougher for women to borrow money from banks. In countries such as Bangladesh, not many women were being placed in the workforce. For this solution, microfinance had been created. Also known as microcredit.   Nobel Peace Prize award winner, Dr. Muhammad Yunus had founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh that ran this microfinance service. However, it was available to mostly women in developing countries, allowing the borrowers to start their own business. Many men are serve too, but women still dominate. It is a great and smart way to help individuals as well as help them contribute to his or her economy.
Microfinance was created to help poor individuals, most of them pertaining to women. However, it can put a downside on an individual. Microfinance activities can damage the prospects of poor people. The ‘microfinance industry’ needs to practice more humility about what it has achieved. Outside of Bangladesh, microfinance hasn’t even scratched the surface of poverty, for example in Kenya less than 70,000 people out of an estimated 9–10 million poor people have access to microfinance, and deepen its understanding of the financial service needs of poor people. There are also positive sides. Many microfinance holders, mostly women, have better conditions that most men. They statistically have a higher repayment rate. Procedures are kept very simple as some women may not be educated. The economic power that women can develop by means of microfinance results in self-confidence. As an economic factor in the household budget, women are able to decide and plan more. Women are becoming more autonomous. They are no longer at the mercy of their husbands and can freely go about their lives. In countries in which the number of single mothers is very...