Escaping the spiral of poverty

Combating extreme poverty and hunger is the first of 8 UN millennium goals. What this means specifically is that, between 1990 and 2015, the organisation aims to halve the number of people who have less than the equivalent of one US dollar a day to live on or who are starving.

This is a huge task. In their social statement entitled "For a future founded on solidarity and justice", churches too called for their members to play their part. The battle against poverty is therefore a fundamental element of our strategic planning, as part of the work done by the Church and, indeed, the whole world to promote peace, justice and the preservation of God's creation. Microfinance is an effective way of combating poverty. And microfinance investments have already shown during the current crisis that they can yield stable and appropriate returns. And that's what matters above all else: appropriateness.

This is how microfinance works
Many people in developing and newly industrialised countries are unable to participate in economic life. Often the major obstacle to their participation is that they do not have access to financial services, even though they have sustainable ideas and often the necessary business knowledge and skills. 

Microfinance overcomes this obstacle. Specialist microfinance institutions offer basic financial services – in particular micro-loans – to poor, but economically active people in developing countries. These small loans are designed to help them to help themselves. A fall-back provision is often incorporated into the repayment agreement in order to provide a cushion in the event of illness or other difficult circumstances. Microfinance is more than just lending money: it also includes savings, insurance, transfers and loans.

Microfinance institutions – success through proximity to clients
There are more than ten thousand microfinance institutions around the world that specialise in these clients. They follow the same principle that Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch and Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen followed when they founded the credit cooperatives in the nineteenth century. They were already applying the criteria that we describe today as "microfinance". Microfinance institutions in developing countries work at local level and know their clients very well. They accompany their development with suitable products and have specialist knowledge of the sector.

People in developing and emerging countries do not need much to be able to build up an economic livelihood for themselves. Even EUR 50–500 is often enough to help someone start living a better life. Pin Phi, Lize Nhaca or Nino Gegia are examples of some of the microentrepreneurs living in Cambodia, Mozambique or Georgia. They have used the money equivalent to EUR 50–500 to buy a sewing machine, a fishing net or goods for their small shops, as well as some food for themselves and their families. They are using their new income to improve the living conditions of their entire family – they can eat regular meals, their children can go to school, the list goes on.

What is more, they are extremely reliable borrowers. The repayment rate for the loans is approximately 100 per cent, which is much higher than the rate for consumer loans in industrialised nations for example.

Microfinance as the driving force behind development
The success of micro-enterprises not only means that people can start to help themselves and their families out of poverty: it also trigger economic growth for an entire region or country. The microfinance system offers potential for highly effective development.

Microfinance – investments that make sense
The money for micro-loans is often provided by microfinance funds. Investors in these funds can reap two main benefits: not only do they receive a financial return on their investment, they also enjoy the satisfying feeling of knowing that they are helping others. They know that their investment will generate a profit and at the same time ensure that other people can enjoy a better future. It is an opportunity to actively help shape the future of our world.

Extensive know-how
We have been working on microfinance for more than ten years now, building up our own knowledge and setting up our own first microfinance fund in 2007. We have since added two special funds and a retail-fund to our range of services. We set up the first microfinance saving-account in Germany for our private clients. We have taken on a pioneering role in German banking, particularly as we also offer direct financing in countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Asia. See more at the pdf on the right side ("Your trusted Partner for Development Finance").