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| At Unitus, we believe access to basic financial services is a sustainable and powerful tool that reduces the causes and impacts of poverty. We invite you to learn more about how poverty affects women, how microfinance changes lives and the role Unitus plays in empowering millions around the world. | |
| Women & Poverty More than 2.5 billion people live on $2 a day or less—nearly half the world’s population; 70% of the world’s poorest are women and children. Limited schooling and lack of appropriate health education are just some of the chronic issues that strongly correlate to high poverty rates with women. In addition, women are often ignored by conventional banks and financial institutions because of their lack of assets. Thus, millions of women in developing countries struggle to meet the daily needs of their families. |
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| FACT: | Women work 67% of the world’s working hours, and produce 50% of the world's food, yet they earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property. |
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| Microfinance Microfinance is based on the belief that the poor need a hand up, not a hand-out. Microfinance organizations are “banks for the poor” that provide the world’s most disenfranchised with the opportunity to work their way out of poverty and towards a sustainable future. A $100 micro-loan can be all it takes to build a small business. Profits help break the cycle of poverty; feeding a family, educating children and sending loved ones to the doctor no longer seem out of reach. |
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| FACT: | More than 115 million people are benefiting from microfinance worldwide. About 85% of these microfinance clients are women. Global repayment rates are higher than 97%. |
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| How Unitus Empowers Women
At Unitus, we know that putting extra income in women’s hands is often the most efficient way to affect an entire family, as women typically put their children’s needs before their own. This means that one microcredit loan can affect multiple generations. Over 95% of the clients served by our microfinance partners are women. We believe we can transform the future for millions of the world’s least fortunate by scaling up highly leveraged, market-based approaches to fighting poverty using the power of microfinance. Once the working poor are no longer excluded from the resources and opportunities of the world’s financial markets, they are empowered to realize their full potential, building stronger families, communities, and lives. |
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| FACT: | Unitus microfinance partners are empowering new micro-entrepreneurs 7x faster than the industry average. Our goal is to reach more than 15 million micro-entrepreneurs through our microfinance partners by 2010. |
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