WWB in the Spotlight, Then and Now. The international media has long recognized Women’s World Banking as an industry pioneer. Time magazine first singled out WWB nearly 20 years ago in its June 4, 1990 issue, not long after we celebrated our 10th anniversary. That story praised WWB as “unlike any other financial institution” and credited us with “a tight budget but . . . a sterling record.” Just last spring, Time again turned to WWB for its June 16, 2008 edition, citing our study “Stemming the Tide of Mission Drift” in an article examining the current state of microfinance. But while we have continued to remain at the forefront of our field throughout our history, the world around us has undergone many seismic shifts, with some of those reflected by the very issues of Time featuring WWB.

The magazine’s June 4, 1990 issue touted an exclusive interview with cover subject Mikhail Gorbachev, then President of the Soviet Union and one of the world’s top newsmakers. Nineteen years later, with the USSR having long since dissolved, we face a very different set of international concerns. Time’s June 16, 2008 cover drew attention to the widespread use of antidepressants by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, the two countries that remain pivotal to our military efforts a year later.

Time’s coverage of WWB over the years also reflects the tremendous changes that have taken place in the microfinance sector itself. The magazine’s 1990 article did not even mention microfinance by name but marveled at the promise of WWB’s loan-guarantee program, which had translated “into a repayment rate of better than 99 percent.” By 2008, with the transformative power of microfinance widely acknowledged, Time’s article, “The Big Trouble in Small Loans,” examined the challenges before us now. As the WWB study Time cited showed, women may have more trouble securing loans as more and more MFIs change from nonprofits to for-profit institutions, since women usually borrow smaller amounts. But commercialization also brings great opportunities, allowing microfinance to reach even larger numbers of low-income communities. WWB remains committed to seizing these opportunities and maintaining our industry’s strong focus on women, as we evolve to meet the demands of a global economy in constant flux.

We invite you to take a look at the images below to see WWB in the spotlight, then and now.

Additional Media Coverage

• Mother Jones Article: "Social Ventures"
• The Financial Post, April 13, 1998, "Walsh Boosting Women's Economic Clout"