More than 137.5 million of the world's poorest families received micro-loans in 2010 which is all time high, according to a report released on Thursday by the Micro-credit Summit Campaign (MSC). Assuming an average of five persons per family, these 137.5 million micro-loans affected more than 687 million family members, which is greater than the combined populations of the European Union and Russia.
Micro-loans are used to help people living in poverty in both industrialised and developing countries to expand a range of small businesses, such as selling products in a local market, making clothes, and providing computer and other business services in rural areas.
As a strategic partner of MSC, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) supports the work of the Summit in Pakistan and the region. PPAF is the lead apex agency offering microfinance in Pakistan and works closely with Micro-credit Summit Campaign for inclusive and improved financial services to the under-served. Since its inception, PPAF had disbursed more than 775 million dollars through 4.7 million micro-credit loans, said PPAF statement issued here. Currently, almost 45 percent of Pakistan's 2.1 million borrowers were financed by PPAF through its 52 partner organisations in 92 districts across the country, it added.
The report's release precedes the Global Micro-credit Summit 2011 to be held on November 14-17 in Valladolid, Spain. According to the report, over the last 13 years, the number of very poor families with a micro-loan has grown more than 18-fold from 7.6 million in 1997 to 137.5 million in 2010. The latest data comes from more than 3,600 institutions world-wide, with more than 94 percent of the information having been collected within the last 18 months.
The report also reveals that the number of poorest women increased from 10.3 million in 1999 to 113.1 million in 2010. The Micro-credit Summit Campaign aims at reaching 175 million of the world's poorest families by 2015 and ensuring that 100 million of those families move above the World Bank's dollar 1.25-a-day poverty threshold.