Theresa Villiers MP has thrown her support behind a campaign by her constituent, Jenny Blythe, to raise awareness of microfinance projects in Africa.
Microfinance is a type of banking that provides financial services to low income individuals or groups of people who would otherwise have no access to banking or borrowing. Microfinance includes the full provision of training and support from microfinance institutions. This training tends to mean that repayment rates are high.
Jenny Blythe is a supporter of the Micro Loan foundation which provides women in Africa with loans as small as £25 to allow them to start their own business and support their families and communities. The Micro Loan Foundation has been running campaign called ‘When Women Lead’.
Endorsing Jenny’s work on microfinance, Theresa Villiers said, “I really commend the efforts Jenny and the Micro Loan Foundation are making to help women in Africa and their families emerge from poverty.”
“I know that these small loans can have a transformative impact. Empowering women in developing countries to provide for their families by starting a business can be a route to higher living standards and a better life. For many years I have been a great admirer of microfinance. I know that targeting these loans at women can have a profoundly positive impact on the lives of the women concerned and their wider families and communities.”
“These programmes are a highly effective way to ensure that aid for the developing world produces long term positive outcomes and lasting improvements to people’s lives and prospects. I am encouraging my constituents to find out more about the Micro Loan Foundation and support Jenny’s campaign.”
Click here to read more about the Micro Loan Foundation’s “When Women Lead” campaign. Click here donate to the Micro Loan Foundation using Jenny Blythe’s fundraising page.
