microfinance Archives | Page 6 of 13

2020 was the most challenging year in HOPE International’s 23-year history. Although we felt the strain of the pandemic on HOPE’s operations, the hardest part was witnessing many of the men and women we serve endure illness, loss of life, overwhelmed health care systems, shortages, halted businesses, and falling income.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) across the HOPE network rallied to assist struggling entrepreneurs, but with markets closed and commerce grinding to a halt, the outlook was grim for both MFIs and those we serve. We began to see a chain reaction play out across our network’s operations:

COVID-19 hits, mandated lockdowns instated, businesses close and/or sales decrease, household income lost, loan repayments missed

But today, we’re excited to report that we’re seeing encouraging signs of recovery in HOPE-network microfinance institutions. We celebrate these because they indicate not only that our operations are returning to health but—even more importantly—that the families we serve are seeing their lives stabilize. Thanks be to God! Continue Reading…

Although the soldiers guarding the Moldovan city of Stefan Voda were effectively crushing 26-year-old Serghei Rusu’s business, he knew they hadn’t asked for the difficult job of limiting the coronavirus’s spread. What may have been best for public health certainly wasn’t best for his business, but Serghei found a way to live out Jesus’ commands, blessing those he might have seen as enemies. Continue Reading…

Living in a rural area of southern Moldova, Tudor Boboc owns one of the largest farms in the region, yet he still knows each of his 150 goats, 30 sheep, and 15 pigs by name, chatting companionably to them as he goes about his daily chores.

But several years ago, Tudor was one of the estimated 1 million Moldovans leaving the country to find better employment opportunities elsewhere. For three months at a time, he lived and worked abroad as a home caretaker, caught, like many Moldovans, in the Catch-22 of leaving his family so he could better provide for them. Continue Reading…

Nicole Kinzonzi’s generosity ripples throughout her community in the Republic of Congo.

When a neighbor said she was going to a loan shark, Nicole referred her to HOPE Congo instead. When Nicole saw that another neighbor’s child had been out of school for a year, she paid the $15 needed to get the child back in school. When Nicole’s church couldn’t afford its water bill—$21 a month—she made the payments. Continue Reading…

If given the opportunity, 50% of Moldovans would leave their country to work abroad.

And many have left. Moldova’s emigration rate is the eleventh highest worldwide. Since the 1990s, a shortage of stable jobs has led thousands to move abroad in search of work, and this trend continues today: Between 2000 and 2014, the number of people who traveled abroad to find work grew from 138,000 to 341,900—a 147% increase.

To keep Moldovan workers close to home, stable jobs are critical. And for a developing economy like Moldova’s, small-and-medium-enterprises (SMEs) fill this employment gap, with 63% of employable Moldovans working for an SME. As these businesses grow, the economy adds more local jobs—and fewer people must leave their families and communities.

Yet, credit barriers prevent many small businesses with the potential to provide much-needed jobs from expanding their businesses further. That’s why Invest Credit, HOPE’s microfinance partner in Moldova, equips entrepreneurs with larger loans to help them scale their operations and reach their potential. As these two stories demonstrate, entrepreneurs like Petrov and Sergiu are tackling the challenges of poverty in their communities. Continue Reading…

Though Ana Cipriano de Sevedia’s education was cut short at the age of 15 because there were no local high schools in her rural Paraguayan community, her love of learning remained. And she’s working hard to create a different outcome for her three sons. “My dream is that they study [at university], that they become someone in life,” she shares. “I work so hard [for this].” Continue Reading…

Archives For microfinance

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3 signs of recovery we’re seeing in our MFIs

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How a devastating shutdown unleashed Serghei’s generous heart

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A Moldovan farmer’s spiritual principle to live by

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Why Nicole paid her church’s water bill

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Investing to keep communities in Moldova together

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What Ana hopes to pass on to her sons

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