Microfinance links and resources

Websites AusAID resources Books CD ROMs Videos

Grameen Bank URL:  http://www.grameen-info.org/ The Grameen Bank provides credit to the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh, without any collateral. In supporting women to develop small enterprises, it has expanded to include a number of related organisations including communications, knitwear and education. This website provides a wealth of information about the Bank and its varied programs, including links to the Australian support group. Microfinance: A Teacher's Resource URL:  http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/microfinance/ Microfinance: A Teacher's Resource for the International Year of Microcredit has been written for primary and secondary teachers to introduce students to the concept of microcredit. Microcredit, and more broadly microfinance, is an important tool for reducing poverty and giving poor people a better chance to live. The site provides teachers with a range of photographs as a photoliteracy tool for exploring the concepts of credit and debt, small business opportunities and microfinance. The material can be adapted to suit a wide variety of year levels and teaching and learning programs. Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) URL:  http://www.sewa.org/ Self-employed Women's Association (SEWA) is an organisation of poor, self-employed women workers in India. These are women who earn a living through their own labour or small businesses. SEWA organises workers to achieve their goals of full employment and self-reliance. The website includes photos of workers and highlights some of their campaigns, and achievements.

AusAID resources Focus articles Focus, a quarterly magazine published by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), provides a variety of items about how the Australian Government's overseas aid program addresses specific global issues. You can subscribe to Focus online or order printed copies at: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pubs.cfm?Type=PubFocus

Australian Aid: Approaches to Microfinance and Enterprise Development (2006) URL:  http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/ausaid_microfinance.pdf This report provides examples of approaches to microfinance and development adopted in AusAID-funded activities that have been successful or innovative in a country or regional context. Projects from Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are presented briefly. Little Interest in Lending: Vietnam: A Way Out of Poverty Through Microfinance URL:  http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/focus/0105/focus_jan05_23.pdf Article from Focus vol. 20 no. 1 Jan-April 2005. The Capital Aid Fund for Employment of the Poor (CEP) in Vietnam is an example of a successful microfinance program. It has exceeded its performance targets and has good prospects for sustainability. Microcredit: A Bridge for the Poor URL:  http://www.ausaid.gov.au/closeup/microcredit_vietnam.cfm The brief story of Hoang, who is a member of the Capital Aid Fund for Employment of the Poor (CEP), a non-profit social organisation set up in 1991 by the Ho Chi Minh Labour Confederation.

Books Title: Cowries, Cash, Credit and Microcredit? Author: Global Education Centre (SA) Description: Written for primary and secondary teachers to introduce students to the concept of microcredit. Microcredit, and more broadly microfinance, is an important tool for reducing poverty and giving poor people a better chance to live. This book is intended to provide teachers with activity ideas, source material, possible assessment tasks and other resources to explore the history of currency, concepts of credit and debt, small business opportunities and microcredit. The resource includes a number of practical suggestions for incorporating microcredit schemes into the classroom; case studies that show how microcredit schemes have assisted in poverty reduction and an introduction to the major microcredit organisations. The material can be adapted to suit a wide variety of year levels and teaching and learning programs. Cost: RRP: $29.95 gst inc plus postage and handling charge $6.50 (South Australian Government & Catholic Schools postage free) Where to get it: Global Education Centre (SA) http://www.global-education.asn.au/ CD ROMs Title: Cowries, Cash, Credit and Microcredit? The CD ROM of this title has two sections. The first section was developed by the Global Education Centre of South Australia. It provides information sheets, student activity sheets and interactives about the history of currency, concepts of credit and debt, small business opportunities and microcredit. The second section, Global Science, was developed by CSIRO. It consists of three sections each of which includes a case study, investigation activities based on background materials and a short video, and general student activities which assist students understand how microfinance needs the broader support of improved approaches to rodent control, improved crop yields and weed management. The topics are: Rats in Rice - the problem of rodent control in Asian rice fields Essential Oils in PNG - the establishment of an essential oil industry to assist remote communities in PNG Biological Control of Water Weeds - the successful control of invasive water weeds along tracts of the Sepik River (PNG) and Lake Victoria (Africa) Where to get it: Global Education Professional Development Providers http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/page156.html Title: Microfinance: A global education resource for the International Year of Microcredit Description: This resource has been written to assist primary and secondary teachers in introducing students to the concept of microcredit. It has a great collection of photographs with notes and questions about people working in the informal economy in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, in jobs including food sales, sign writing, hair braiding, petrol sales and car repairs. The photos are contained in both a PowerPoint presentation and a PDF version accompanied by descriptions and questions, along with teacher background material and two case studies about people working in the informal economy. The CD-ROM includes a detailed teacher background article, 'Microcredit: Small loans, big dreams', by Sue Bliss. Where to get it: Global Education Professional Development Providers http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/page156.html Online version: http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/page1880.html Videos Title: Small Change, Big Business Description: Ten years after the making of "Change in the Third World", a story about micro credit and the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, the filmmakers revisit the main characters in the 1995 documentary to discover the effects that micro credit has had on their lives. For some the result has been positive, for others, not so beneficial and for others there have been unexpected outcomes. Featuring the work of Professor Yunus, whose efforts to lift millions out of poverty, earned him the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Age group: Upper secondary Where to get it: Video Education Australasia http://www.vea.com.au/