HOPE International’s Microfinance Program is designed for those entrepreneurs who have no access to bank loans. The program enables people who run microbusinesses to access a loan without collateral. This is possible due to the use of a group guarantee principle where groups of three or more borrowers agree to cross guarantee each other’s loans. The lending program is designed to ensure that loans will have a positive impact on the client’s business and increased income for their family. HOPE International has over 200,000 clients in twelve countries throughout the world.
Meet Mama Henriette
Mama Henriette is a widow with four children living in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. She sells salted fish in an open market to bring in money to feed her family. Before HOPE, Mama Henriette made just 50 cents profit each day on her sales. Just weeks before hearing about HOPE, Mama Henriette was robbed of all her money, including the savings she had worked so hard to ac
cumulate.
Mama Henriette received her first loan from HOPE for just $45. She re-launched her bankrupt business and began selling shikwang, a staple food in the country, in addition to the fish. Her profits increased to $15 a week—five times the amount she made before!
Today Mama Henriette’s family eats three healthy meals a day, and she is able to afford medicine when one of her children is sick. She is even giving back to her community by supporting her local church on a regular basis.
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