Microcredit Aids Developing Countries
From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:
"From alpaca farms in Peru to fish farms in Indonesia, microcredit has gone where no bank has deigned to tread. In extending loans to so-called risky business, microcredit programs have lifted thousands of small ventures up from the dirt floors of the developing world.
One of those, Oikocredit, has its largest U.S. support group based in Pittsburgh. The Western Pennsylvania Support Association will have invested in small-scale entrepreneurs to the tune of $3.5 million at the end of this year.
'We have a 92 percent success rate' on repaid loans worldwide, said Mary Pardee, a founder of the Western Pennsylvania group and a one-time member of the international board. 'It's just wonderful to see how people respond to opportunities.'"
