ULTRA POOR INITIATIVE

Who Are the "Ultra Poor"?

Microfinance is an incredible tool for helping the poor work their way to a life of sustainability, opportunity, and ultimately, economic self-empowerment. But it doesn’t work for all.

For those living at the very bottom of the economic pyramid—those we refer to as the “ultra poor”—a microcredit loan is often not the best first step. The ultra poor are typically part of the unskilled and exploited classes, and may suffer from extreme malnutrition and have no productive assets. They are forced into a transient lifestyle in search of work, often brutal manual labor. They need assistance in stabilizing their life circumstances, meeting their basic health and social needs, and learning the livelihood skills necessary to generate an income.

Ultra Poor Initiative

In partnership with the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, Unitus created the Ultra Poor Initiative (UPI) in Fall of 2008.  The UPI is a two-year initiative aimed at increasing the effectiveness of programs focused on this population. Using a combination of grants and advisory services to initiate new programs or improve existing outreach through partner organizations, the program aims to identify and disseminate specific strategies that work best to increase access, sustainability, and effectiveness in getting this marginalized population off the bottom rung of extreme poverty.

As part of the UPI, Unitus is providing one or more of the following to its six partners:

•   Onsite support around business plan development, new product / service development, pilot testing, general research, systems expertise, operations consulting, and social performance assessment, as it pertains specifically to the partner’s Ultra Poor program

•   Leveraging industry best practices to help partners serve this segment in the most efficient, effective manner

•    Evaluation and dissemination of findings from pilot programs to spread best practices across our partner network and the industry

At the end of the two-year initiative, Unitus and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation will publish key findings to share with the greater microfinance industry in hopes of catalyzing more initiatives that serve the ultra poor.