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Microlending is touted as a way to lift women out of poverty - with stories of small loans transforming lives in developing countries. But is that the reality? Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women who lead microfinance organisations in India and the US.

Julie Hanna is an Egyptian-born entrepreneur and chair of the board of Kiva, a US-based non-profit organisation that allows people to lend money via the internet to people on low incomes in over 90 countries. Julie herself came to the US as a child refugee, fleeing civil wars in Jordan and in Lebanon, where her family were living. She says it shaped her as a person. In 2015, President Obama named her Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.

Vijayalakshmi Das is the CEO of Friends of Women's World Banking, India, which is based in Ahmedabad. The organisation looks to not only provide women in India with microloans but also, through a group structure, provide support, knowledge and education for women in poverty so that they're able to use their new access to finance in a positive way.

Image:
L - Image and credit: Julie Hanna
R - Image and credit: Viji Das