Why Microlending Matters In Developing Markets

By  |  October 12, 2012
 | 

You may not like the interest rate your paying on your mortgage, tuition bill or auto loan, but a new infographic from Credit Score should help to put things in perspective.

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    Very poor borrowers from developing markets – Credit Score uses a Bengali weaver as an example – are often forced to pay exorbitant interest rates by local loan sharks. As a result, such borrowers can make just enough money to eat and live, but not enough to invest in their trade or compile meaningful savings.

    The infographic highlights three especially disturbing stats: two-thirds of people in developing countries lack bank accounts, only four percent of the 3 billion adults without access to credit will escape poverty, and 82.3 percent of microloan borrowers are women.

    As a solution, Credit Score presents not-for-profit microlenders: companies that offer interest rates lower than the 28 percent average, don’t require collateral or credit histories and provide savings incentive programs.

    To read more about how non-for-profit microlenders can help the those in developing countries escape poverty, view the complete infographic below.


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