MISSION
Unitus, an international nonprofit organization, fights global poverty by accelerating the growth of microfinance—small loans and other financial tools for self-empowerment—where it is needed most.
Close to half the world’s population survives on less than $2 a day. In places such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the total living below this line approaches 75 percent. For millions of families in need, microfinance offers the hope for a successful small business and more: increased economic stability, better healthcare and housing, the opportunity for education, and ultimately, the real possibility of self-sufficiency.
Unitus is not your traditional nonprofit. In addition to on-the-ground microfinance expertise, we bring executive experience from banking, technology, and corporate consulting backgrounds to employ market-driven solutions to age-old problems of financial exclusion and poverty. Our model focuses on seeking out and partnering with young, high-potential microfinance institutions (small banking organizations that serve the poor, often called MFIs), helping them build capacity, attract capital, and unite with our network to achieve rapid, sustainable growth.
Microfinance is most effective when a microcredit loan is supported by a range of client-supporting products and services such as business skills training, savings programs, and basic insurance plans. In support of these innovations, Unitus encourages the development of “high-impact” microfinance: a combination of increased access to these tools with an emphasis on sustainability, client protection, and social impact.
We target our efforts in high-need regions of the developing world where microfinance has promise but is struggling to grow. Once MFIs and/or regions reach critical milestones and demonstrate sustainability, we shift our resources to where they can be used most effectively.
The devastating downward cycle of extreme poverty is not inevitable. Microfinance can help reverse a family’s fortunes in a single generation. The greatest challenge is extending microfinance fast enough—and far enough—to make it available to the hundreds of millions still waiting.
Unitus works with 24 microfinance partners in India, Southeast Asia, East Africa, South America, and Mexico. These MFIs are growing 7 times faster than their peers, demonstrating the strength of their leadership and the promise of our approach. In just 7 years, we’ve helped our partners serve more than 8 million families.
> Read microfinance success stories
