By Janisha Nathu.
ADC Microfinance is one of The Good Registry’s newest charity partners, offering life-changing loans that can support aspiring entrepreneurs and lift entire communities out of poverty in Myanmar.
The way microfinance works is simple: donations made to ADC Microfinance go towards a community bank which then provides the loans to budding entrepreneurs living in disadvantaged communities. Once the entrepreneurs pay back the loan, the money goes back into the community bank, which then funds another entrepreneur’s business and so on — the cycle is never-ending!
ADC Microfinance’s Partnership Manager, Pip Findlay, stressed the impact a kiwi dollar makes on these communities.
Because of the value of the NZ dollar compared to the Myanmar currency, a single kiwi dollar translates to roughly $9 that is available to be loaned out to support a budding entrepreneur living in Myanmar. A collective donation of as little as $200 NZD empowers an entrepreneur to start up their business, which then loops back around to help someone else achieve their dream.
Pip says, “It’s more sustainable than providing a hand out. We’re encouraging people to fish for themselves essentially.”
Just over 85% of ADC Microfinance’s community banks’ clients are women, and Pip explains that many of them act as role models within their communities, inspiring other women to actively make a change for their future.
Through this process, over $2 million NZD in funding has been made available for Myanmar entrepreneurs since ADC Microfinance’s inception in 2007.
Just under 10,000 loans have been made from this microfinance funding pool, contributing to eradicating poverty in these communities and enhancing the skills practiced by the budding entrepreneurs.
To learn more about ADC Microfinance and the incredible work they do, visit their website. Alternatively, you can help ADC Microfinance to support more budding entrepreneurs through The Good Registry.
We have created two simple ways to give and the gift of giving through our website:
- Create your own Good Registry for a special event (e.g. a wedding or a birthday) and ask friends to donate to a charity you choose, instead of buying gifts.
- Give Good Gift Cards instead of traditional gifts, to enable others to make donations to charities they care about.
You can hear from people who have used Good Registries and Good Gift Cards to help charities like ADC Microfinance, on our inspirational Giving Wall.
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