English - Freedom from Hunger

Common Characteristics for success
CoMMon CHaRaCTeRIsTICs FoR suCCess
So what do these stories of positive impact tell us? We use the member interviews to provide a description
of the participants and how they describe their lives changing after participation in the program.
Demographics
Of those categorized as having experienced improvement, 89 percent are women. The mean age is 39
years, but they range in age from 19 to 70. The youngest group is in Bolivia (mean age of 36) and the
oldest group is in Mali (mean age of 43 for both the successful Mali Credit with Education and Saving for
Change program participants). Consistent with the age of the successful participants, we also know that
most are married (although one-quarter of all participants interviewed in Mali are widows) and almost
all have children. Numbers of children vary greatly, with averages from six children in the West African
programs to three children in Latin America. Nine participants across Ecuador, Burkina Faso, Mali and
Bénin have ten or more children. Some of the West African participants have four to six of their own
children, but may also be one of many wives and therefore may be partially responsible for up to 20
children.
Shocks
It is not unusual for these program participants to have suffered some sort of shock or personal crisis—
often affecting the entire family—while in the program or in the years immediately preceding their
participation. Eighteen of 21 members of the Mali Saving for Change program mention family deaths in
their interviews. Fifteen of those include a death of one or more of their own children or grandchildren.
While this group in Mali is somewhat unusual for the extreme nature of the shocks with which its
members have had to contend, it is clear that microfinance program participants who have benefitted
from their involvement in the group have had extraordinarily difficult lives. In Bénin, 10 of 20 successful
participants mention having to deal with severe illnesses and deaths in the immediate family. In Ecuador,
9 of 22 members who have benefitted from the Credit with Education program mention in their
interviews various crises that have contributed to their extreme poverty (especially illnesses and injuries
that have prevented them or their spouses from working). In Mexico, members reflect on the impact of
the swine flu epidemic and the resulting financial and health shocks this has caused their families.
Economic gains
Program participants whose lives have changed report the greatest change to be in their economic
position. Nearly all of the 152 members that we categorize as benefiting from the program reported using
their loans to invest in businesses that allow them to earn money that they otherwise would not be able
to earn. In some cases, these are new businesses that were begun with those loans. In other cases, they
are expansions of existing businesses or diversifications of product offerings, and those expansions have
provided them with increased profits. These profits from new or newly expanded businesses give the
participants the opportunity to invest further in their businesses, but also, in many cases, to set aside more
money for their families. In fact, much of this group specifically describes their access to increased funds,
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