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$1.7m grant supports pilot programs at microfinance institutions in Mongolia and Dominican Republic to serve as global models for girls’ economic empowerment

New York, NY (August 7, 2008) – Women’s World Banking (WWB), the world’s largest network of microfinance institutions and banks dedicated to the economic empowerment of low-income women, and the Nike Foundation today announced a new initiative to develop innovative savings products and services specifically geared toward the needs of young women and girls. With a $1.7 million grant from the Nike Foundation, WWB will design, market and deliver savings products and financial education to girls between the ages of 7 and 24 via a three-year pilot program at microfinance institutions in Mongolia and the Dominican Republic. The partnership will put resources directly in the hands of young women in the developing world, who hold enormous, untapped potential for changing the social and economic future of their families and communities.

Promoting women’s economic empowerment through microfinance products and services, including savings products, has proven social and economic benefits critical for long-term poverty alleviation in developing countries. As both borrowers and savers, for example, women reinvest in their families and communities at greater rates than men – at 89 cents on the dollar versus 60 cents, respectively. Yet one segment of the population that microfinance has not traditionally served – for a host of financial, social, cultural and regulatory reasons – is adolescent girls and young women. The new WWB and Nike Foundation partnership aims to address this gap.

“Though microfinance was founded with women at the core of its mission, and though adult women have helped microfinance grow into the phenomenon that it is today, adolescent girls and young women are the forgotten population in microfinance,” said Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women’s World Banking. “Beyond increasing girls’ self esteem and equipping them with the tools for personal financial success, helping them become economic powerhouses will create a multiplier effect in their communities. With this generous grant from the Nike Foundation, we plan to use the lessons learned in Mongolia and the Dominican Republic as a demonstration of success for the microfinance industry as a whole.”

“Global research and experience show that investing in girls may be the most powerful missing piece to the poverty alleviation puzzle,” said Maria Eitel, president of the Nike Foundation. “We are excited to continue this investment through Women’s World Banking.”

Among adult women, having access to safe, flexible and confidential savings products has significant empowerment potential, an effect that WWB and the Nike Foundation believe will also prove to be the case with younger women. Yet many girls in the countries in which WWB network members operate leave secondary school before completion – and, even if they complete school, most face unemployment, with their only options being to work in the informal economy or marry at an early age. The possibilities for economic independence are minimal.

Through the partnership, WWB and the Nike Foundation aim to prove that offering a combination of high-quality, low-cost savings accounts and comprehensive financial education will increase savings and lead to lifelong changes in attitudes about the use of money among young women and girls. Furthermore, WWB and the Nike Foundation believe this economic empowerment will naturally lead to an increased propensity among girls to start businesses, achieve higher education or own homes – all of which have broader implications for poverty alleviation.

The grant will support pilot programs at two microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Women’s World Banking network (Xac Bank in Mongolia and ADOPEM in the Dominican Republic) with the goal of developing programs and best practices that can be replicated at other microfinance institutions around the world.

Elements of the program include:

• Savings Products: Design and deliver savings products and determine optimal ways to reach girls through marketing and branding campaigns.
• Financial Literacy: Design financial education modules (including modifying existing financial curricula to the local market) and determine the best way to deliver them. Subjects include budgeting, savings, and managing bank accounts and debt.
• Knowledge Sharing: Conduct exchange visits for grantees to share lessons and best practices, and take lessons learned to disseminate best practices to network members and the larger microfinance industry.
• Mobile Phones: Conduct feasibility study into the potential for financial literacy delivered via mobile phones.

Operating in one of the least densely populated countries in the world, Xac Bank has significant experience in offering savings to children. The Mongolian government, for example, provides each child with $10 a month in direct transfers, and Xac Bank works with parents to channel those funds into its “future millionaire” long-term savings account. ADOPEM has significant experience in serving adult women through its voluntary savings program, with more than 50,000 passbook account holders.

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About Women’s World Banking (WWB)

WWB is a global network of 54 microfinance providers and banks, working in 30 countries to bring financial products and services to low-income entrepreneurs, especially women. The network serves 11 million microentrepreneurs directly, and another 14 million indirectly through its bank partners and other regional networks. WWB is supported by an international team of experts based in New York that delivers expertise in product design and distribution, access to capital markets, and customer care and insight.

About the Nike Foundation

The Nike Foundation (www.nikefoundation.org) is a non-profit organization supported by NIKE, Inc., that is dedicated to investing in adolescent girls as the most powerful force for change in the developing world.

About girleffect.org

girleffect.org tells the story of girls creating a ripple impact on their families, communities and nations. Created by the Nike Foundation, it provides the tools for girl champions to spread the word.