Why a network? As microfinance continues to evolve at an astonishing pace, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and those in the industry face new challenges in navigating this changing landscape. One of the keys to moving forward lies in the very way in which microfinance began, with the poor helping each other through the creation of strong support networks. The group lending model has helped millions, especially women, to lift themselves out of poverty. As a network of MFIs, Women’s World Banking applies this theory at the macro level—that working together as a network is far more effective than going it alone.

Microfinance is context-specific and ultimately driven at the local level by individual MFIs. However, there is an exponential benefit to MFIs leveraging each other’s resources and expertise through a global network. By offering technical advice; assisting with market research and product diversification; and connecting MFIs with capital markets, a network can help MFIs develop institutional capacity and grow to scale in ways they could not on their own.

Perhaps the most important benefit of a network is the exchange of knowledge among peers. WWB has sent Moroccan MFIs exploring the feasibility of becoming regulated institutions to Peru, and our Uganda affiliate to Ghana to study different approaches on mobilizing savings. This interactive approach not only provides vital sharing of innovations but also serves to build smaller, equally essential networks amongst MFIs. WWB’s network members are secure in the knowledge that as they pursue large-scale social change—poverty alleviation through the economic empowerment of women—they are supported by an entire network of peer organizations that share their collective vision.

Several MFI leaders from the WWB network share, in their own words, how being part of a network helps them achieve their goals, proving that 30 years later the network model is still effective in extending financial access to more of the poor: