The mission of ACCION International is to give people the tools they need to work their way out of poverty. By providing microloans, business training and other financial services to poor men and women who start their own businesses, ACCION's partner lending organizations help people work their own way up the economic ladder, with dignity and pride. With just a little capital, people can grow their own businesses. They can earn enough to afford basics like running water, better food and schooling for their children.

For more info, please see:
http://www.accion.org/

ACCION's goal is to bring microfinance to enough people to have a significant impact on poverty. It has been estimated that it would cost over $250 billion to reach 500 million poor people with microfinance services – a figure well beyond the reach of donor funds. That is why ACCION is leading the effort to make microfinance financially self-sustaining.

Microfinance programs have the potential to cover their own costs. The interest each borrower pays helps to finance the cost of lending to another. In most poverty alleviation efforts, every person helped brings the program closer to its financial limits. Successful microfinance programs, on the other hand, generate more resources with each individual they help.

As a result, well-managed microfinance programs generate more income than they spend. Once they become economically viable financial institutions, they have the ability to access a virtually unlimited source of lending capital – the billions of dollars invested in the world's financial markets.

For more info, please see:
http://www.accion.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=502&srcid=501

ACCION International was founded in 1961 to address the desperate poverty in Latin America's cities. Begun as a student-run volunteer effort in the shantytowns of Caracas, Venezuela, ACCION today is one of the premier microfinance organizations in the world, with a network of lending partners that spans Latin America, Africa, Asia and the United States. Over the last four decades, ACCION has built a tradition of developing innovative solutions to poverty. Though ACCION's approach has changed over the years, the driving force behind our mission remains the same.

For more info, please see:
http://www.accion.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=506&srcid=253