With Little Loans, Mexican Women Overcome

Still struggling after decades of failed poverty alleviation schemes and IMF-imposed structural adjustment programs, poor women in some developing countries are finding hope and success in micro-loans. In Mexico, where banks have generally ignored the financial services needs of the poor, microcredit organizations offer poor people loans of a few hundred dollars to start new small businesses. Building on a model first popularized in Bangladesh, interest-earning loans have proven immensely popular in some of Mexico's poorest regions. Especially in communities where many men have left home for work abroad or in big cities, women left behind with child-rearing responsibilities are eager to find productive ways to pay for their family's education, health, and basic living expenses. – YaleGlobal