WMI was founded in November, 2007 by seven Washington DC area professional women to address women's economic disenfranchisement in rural East Africa. Two board members were working with a rural women's association in Sironko District, Uganda through a church project, and the village women asked for help to establish a loan program. WMI, unlike conventional aid initiatives, preserves its capital basis by providing loans rather than subsidies. WMI makes loans to impoverished women in developing nations who have no access to banks. Issuing affordable, collateral-free loans for as little as $50, WMI promotes women's economic empowerment to reduce global poverty. WMI's goal is... read more WMI was founded in November, 2007 by seven Washington DC area professional women to address women's economic disenfranchisement in rural East Africa. Two board members were working with a rural women's association in Sironko District, Uganda through a church project, and the village women asked for help to establish a loan program. WMI, unlike conventional aid initiatives, preserves its capital basis by providing loans rather than subsidies. WMI makes loans to impoverished women in developing nations who have no access to banks. Issuing affordable, collateral-free loans for as little as $50, WMI promotes women's economic empowerment to reduce global poverty. WMI's goal is to help poor women build assets to stabilize their income, improve their familiy's living standard, become advocates for their families/communities, and transition into independent banking and the formal economy. In its 13 years of operation, WMI has created 13 geographical loan hubs in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, issuing over 62,000 loans totaling $8 million to 19,000 women. 7,000 borrowers have graduated from WMI's two-year loan and training program.
Each of GlobalGiving’s nonprofit partners is required to send quarterly donor reports detailing the impact of their work. Here are some of their recent updates:
By Deborah Smith | Treasurer
Dear Program Supporter, It has been 6 months since we opened our newest loan hub in Sheema District in the far western part of Uganda. The first 40 members received their first loans in April 2023... Read the full report ›By Deborah Smith | WMI Board Member and Treasurer
The rural areas where WMI works still operate primarily on a cash economy. Banks typically operate only in the larger towns and cities, which makes accessing them difficult for our typical rural loan... Read the full report ›By Deborah Smith | WMI Treasurer
One of WMI’s goals is to teach business skills to village women so that they can launch businesses and generate profits that they can use to improve life for themselves and their families.... Read the full report ›
