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"Who hasn't heard the adage that says 'give a man a fish and he'll eat for
a day; teach a man to fish, etc. etc.'...I take that one - no - several steps
further - give a woman the knowledge and means to fish, or bake bread or make
clothes and she will sell you the excess. Provide for her family, build her
community. That's entrepreneurship and market development in one simple
stroke." - Diana Taylor
HWW supports the economic empowerment of underprivileged women
worldwide through microfinance. Beneficiaries of Casino Night 2007 included
the following three microfinance organizations - ACCION International
(www.accion.org), Grameen Foundation (
www.grameenfoundation.org) and Women
for Women International (
www.womenforwomen.org) whose work with poor women
spans the globe.
HWW's microfinance initiatives to date have
included the following:
GRAMEEN INFORMATION SESSION - 11/29/06
An overflow crowd joined Alex Counts, President & CEO of Grameen
Foundation, for a private wine tasting and discussion on microfinance.
Grameen Bank was founded in 1976 by Professor Muhammad Yunus, the 2006
recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, who offered a personal video greeting to
HWW at the session. Profession Yunus started Grameen making $27 loans to
women from his own pocket. Today, Grameen Bank serves more than six million
poor families with microfinance loans, insurance and other services. The bank
is fully owned by its clients and has been a model for microfinance
institutions around the world.
Alex described the various Grameen
programs which have been so instrumental in lifting poor women out of poverty
and into productive lives and spoke about what winning the Nobel Peace Prize
means for both Grameen and the microfinance industry.
ACCION INFORMATION SESSION - 11/15/06
The November 15th session
featured Maria Otero, President and CEO of ACCION International, a leading
micro-credit organization. ACCION, which was founded in 1961, is active in
twenty-three countries and since 1996 has made $9.4 billion in microloans to
almost four million people. Maria described how ACCION's work helps poor
women establish economic independence by becoming entrepreneurs. Maria, who
was featured in a Newsweek Magazine article on how women lead, has traveled
to Africa with Melinda Gates, to Bolivia with Hillary Clinton, advised Bill
Gates and Warren Buffet on effective strategies for reaching millions more
people with microfinance, and is herself a force of nature.
WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION SESSION - 11/9/06
At the November 9th session, Zainab Salbi, Founder of Women for Women International
discussed what her organization is doing to foster the economic independence
and empowerment of women who have survived war and violence. Zainab, the
daughter of Saddam Hussein's pilot, knows all too well from personal
experience the impact of war on women. Author of two books, a mesmerizing
speaker and favorite of Oprah Winfrey, Zainab described how Women for Women
helps women rebuild their lives and develop economic self sufficiency.
COUNT ME IN, MAKE MINE A MILLION BUSINESS PROGRAM - 10/24/06
HWW volunteers assisted the New York-based nonprofit provider of online micro
loans and business resources for women across the United States to evaluate loan
applications. The program's overall goal is to inspire and help 1 million women
reach the $1 million revenue mark by 2010. The NY program offers 20 winning women
entrepreneurs a year of mentoring and professional coaching, marketing assistance,
a technical assessment from Cisco Systems Inc., up to a $45,000 loan from Count Me
In and a $10,000 line of credit from OPEN from American Express. See their websites
www.countmein.org and
www.makemineamillion.org. HWW members can help out in two ways:
Volunteer to review program applications (for the June event in San Francisco,
over 500 applications were received).
Volunteer to offer mentoring support to program award winners.
TRIP TO WEST AFRICA - 8/06
Leslie Lake, President of HWW and
Co-Chair of the Microfinance Committee, led an eye-opening expedition of HWW
on a due diligence trip to Ghana, Togo and Benin in August 2006.
The
group which included Barbara Lucas, Gretchen Piller and Pam Goldman met with
ACCION, Opportunity International, and Women's Trust as well as the Minister
of Microfinance of Benin to review the needs and opportunities in the region
and to learn more about the impact of microfinance.
MICROFINANCE SYMPOSIUM - 7/26/06
HWW hosted an enthusiastically
received microfinance symposium for over 100 attendees on July 26, 2006. The
symposium was moderated by Diana Taylor, Superintendent of Banks for the
State of New York.
Keynote speakers included:
- Alex Counts, President of Grameen Foundation
- Maria Otero, President,
Action International
- Michaela Walsh, Founding President of Women's World
Banking
Featured speakers included:
- Christina Barrineau, Millennium Promise
- Nancy Barry, Women's World Banking
- Lucy Billingsley, Chiapas Project
- Isobel Coleman, Council of Foreign Relations
- Dana Dakin, Women's Trust
- Emilio Ghersi, ACCION International
- Elizabeth Littlefield, CGAP
- Ann Miles, Blue Orchard Capital Markets
- Jonathan Morduch, New York University
- Camilla Nestor, GF-CMG
- Lynn Patterson, Pro Mujer
- Robin Ratcliffe, ACCION International
- Louise Schneider-Moretto, Women's World Banking
- Hannah Siedek, CGAP
- Sharmi Sobhan, Fonkoze Financial Services
Click here to read IDD article.
For a complete agenda of the symposium, please download this PDF, agenda.pdf.
For complete biographies of all the speakers, please download this
MicrofinanceSymposium.pdf.
INTRODUCTION TO MICROLENDING INFORMATION SESSION - 10/26/05
Dana Dakin and Susan Kraeger from Women's Trust and Susan Davis of the
Grameen Foundation led a discussion on opportunities in microlending. The
audience was riveted and the Q&A session went way beyond scheduled ending
time.
NY WOMEN'S FOUNDATION INFORMATION SESSION - 10/19/05
Barbara Vogelstein hosted over 50 High Water Women at the Cosmopolitan Club
for an information session with the New York Women's Foundation. Attendees
enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres while learning about the important work
undertaken by the NYWF. A highlight of the evening was a talk by board
member Diana Taylor, Superintendent of Banks for the State of New York, who
spoke on the topic of microlending.
MICROFINANCE FACTS
Poverty is a fact of life for a majority of the world's population. The poor
have no access to credit. To survive, they start "micro" businesses. They
sell vegetables, they sell bread, they sell chickens and eggs or soap or
clothing, whatever they can to make a meager living.
MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE WOMEN
These people, many women, are forced to borrow from local loan sharks who
charge as much as 10% a day. These people cannot break the cycle of poverty.
MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE WOMEN
How can they break free? They do so with working capital, sometimes with
loans as small as $100.00. But banks won't lend to them, they cannot get
conventional credit.
MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE WOMEN
How can they be helped? Through microloans. A microloan can cut the costs
of raw goods or buying needed equipment, such as a sewing machine. Sales
grow and so do profits. With a growing income, people can work their way out
of poverty. Microlending is a smart strategy because it builds on the one
asset found even in the poorest of the poorest communities: the power and
determination of the human spirit.
MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE WOMEN
WHY FOCUS ON WOMEN?
Women are the best poverty fighters. Experience and studies have shown that
women use their profits from their businesses to send their children to
school, improve the families living conditions, provide their families with
healthcare and expand their businesses.
Women are more likely to fully repay their loans on time. Their repayment
rate is between 95% and 98%.
As families cross the poverty line, and businesses expand, the communities
benefit. Jobs are created, knowledge is shared, civic participation
increases and women are recognized as valuable members of their families and
communities.
It is clear that microfinance works. The statistics speak for themselves.
- Superior repayment rates - mostly by women - 95% to 98%
- Millions of people, many are women, now have access to capital
- 30 years of data to support the "microfinance" solution
- 41.6 million of the world's poorest families are now microfinance borrowers
- Women make up 80% of the 41.6 million borrowers
- 30% of microfinance borrowers will leave poverty after three years
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
- JOIN the microfinance committee by emailing microfinance@highwaterwomen.org
- Support Casino Night 2007. As we support the economic empowerment of
underserved women globally.
To join the Benefit Committee ($1,000) please click here.
To purchase a ticket please click here.
For sponsorship opportunities please click here.
If you can't attend but would like to make a fully tax-deductible donation to this important initiative, please click here.
For more information please contact us at casinonight@highwaterwomen.org.
Microfinance Links
Accion International, www.accion.org
Grameen, www.gfusa.org
Women for Women International, www.womenforwomen.org
Women's World Banking, www.swwb.org
CGAP, www.cgap.org
Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org
Women's Trust, www.womenstrust.org
Blue Orchard Finance, www.blueorchard.org
Fonkoze Financial Services, www.fonkoze.org
Chiapas Project, www.gfusa.org
Pro Mujer, www.promujer.org
Diana Taylor, NYS Banking Superintendent www.banking.state.ny.us
Jonathan Morduch, www.nyu.edu
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