MADISON, WI – “Women’s History Month is a natural moment to celebrate what WorldWise has long understood: that when you put capital in the hands of women, entire communities benefit,” said WorldWise founder and president Tom Eggert.
Founded in 2010, WorldWise Microfinance was created to provide very small loans delivered through a group lending model, in which borrowers are organized into lending groups and support one another in repayment. This approach promotes accountability, financial discipline, and long‑term sustainability while reducing reliance on short‑term aid.
More than 80 percent of the organization’s microloans go directly to women entrepreneurs in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.
That figure reflects both the realities of global poverty and a deliberate organizational commitment. Women in low-income communities are disproportionately excluded from formal financial systems. They are less likely to hold bank accounts, less likely to qualify for traditional credit, and more likely to reinvest earnings to benefit their families and neighborhoods. Microfinance, when targeted toward women, becomes one of the most powerful tools available for progress out of poverty.
WorldWise borrowers are market vendors, seamstresses, farmers, food processors, and small shop owners. Many are the sole or primary economic providers for their households. A loan of a few hundred dollars — unremarkable in the developed world — can mean the difference between a woman purchasing inventory in bulk at a discount versus buying day by day at a loss, between keeping a child in school and pulling her out, between building a business and barely surviving.
“Women have always been the backbone of their communities — they just haven’t always had access to the financing they deserve,” according to Eggert. “We know that a small loan, made to the right person at the right moment, can set off a chain reaction that reaches far beyond one business. It reaches children, neighbors, and the next generation of entrepreneurs. Women’s History Month reminds us why this work matters — and why it can’t wait.”
Decades of research in international development confirm what WorldWise sees on the ground every day: investing in women produces outsized returns for society. The United Nations, the World Bank, and major development institutions have all documented that women with access to financial services invest more of their income in children’s health and education than men do. Gender-lens financing is not a niche philosophy — it is a sound development strategy.
