Ethiopia
A Glimmer of Hope believes trade and aid is the most effective combination for helping the poor to create sustainable, long-term solutions to the economic problems they face.
It believes charity is not an answer to global poverty and that giving people a stake in their own destinies is an incredibly powerful force for change.
To break the cycle of poverty, the poor need access to credit. Without loans, they cannot launch their own enterprises, however small they may be.
Today, as part of its commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, microcredit initiatives funded by the foundation are playing an important role in giving thousands of rural Ethiopians a chance to develop sustainable local economies and improve their lives. Partnerships and co-investors have emerged in this area, most notably the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
Men and women are taking out microloans funded by A Glimmer of Hope and using them to buy the items they need to start profitable businesses. These items include everything from low cost water pumps and drip irrigation equipment that dramatically boosts crop production to dairy cows for milk production.
Aside from agricultural pursuits, many aspiring entrepreneurs are starting up a wide range of small businesses including: retailing; tailoring; restaurants; arts and crafts; baking; and, manufacturing. The loans generally range from $50 to $500 per individual and are capable of completely changing the lives of the fledgling entrepreneur and their families.
For donors, microcredit is changing the face of philanthropy because it offers a unique way to measure the impact of their investment: income generation. For every dollar donated to a microcredit scheme, additional dollars are created in the form of income.
Instead of placing a band-aid on the wound of poverty by donating food, microcredit gives donors an opportunity to leverage their investment, create scalability and develop economic sustainability.
In terms of scalable results, microcredit investors reach an ever-expanding number of beneficiaries as their donations are continually reinvested after being recovered in the form of loan repayments.
PDF: Microcredit and it's benefits to Ethiopia