Why are some microfinance loans not so 'micro'?

When asked recently by a lender why many of the loans featured on the lendwithcare.org website were rather large (often around £1,000) we explained why that might be:


1. At lendwithcare we believe that supporting small to medium enterprises (SMEs) often generates waged employment opportunities for some of the very poorest segments of the population. The latter occasionally do not even qualify for a microloan in their own right. This strategy of supporting a range of businesses we believe is more effective in tackling poverty than simply supporting one type of business.

Youth, employment and micro-credit

Chakriya Yoeur from Cambodia

Hana Yousef, recent university graduate and CARE International UK Volunteer, discusses what microfinance could mean to the rising number of unemployed young people in developing countries ...


Historically, micro-finance has never been something typically associated with youth. It seems as though the general pre-conception of young people moving around and being less likely to ‘stay put’ make them less desirable recipients of a micro-credit loan. 


Following my donations

Jun Pérez, President of SEED Finance and Amy Lithgoe

It’s not often you get to know how the money you donate to charity is actually spent but today I was able to meet Jun Perez, President of SEED Finance, the Filipino partner of lendwithcare.org.  I’ve always thought the whole concept of lendwithcare.org is fantastic and was keen to find out more about how the scheme actually operates on the ground.

Living Below the Line | A photo diary

£1 for 5 days for all food and drink - could you?

For the past 3 days, 1000's of Britons have taken on the challenge to live on £1 a day for all food and drink in an attempt to deepen and widen understanding of the challenges and difficult choices faced by those living in extreme poverty.

We have been taking part in the challenge here at lendwithcare.org and as we enter into DAY FOUR I wanted to share a few of my (picture) thoughts from the challenge so far

This week I have learnt that living within an extremely tight budget means …