First Name (first name only please):



Email:



Development Strategy

Impact First recognizes that poverty is multi-faceted. It can’t be fully addressed simply by increasing incomes and assets.

Our unique strategy focuses on providing micro-financial products and business training to groups of women. At the same time, we recognize that helping women grow their small businesses and increase their incomes can only work if those women and their families are healthy. Development strategy

The single biggest reason for a default on a micro-loan is a health emergency. So when women meet in groups to do things like pay interest on their loans, we provide health education. We also negotiate with local providers to improve access to healthcare.

The end results of this integrated approach to supporting local entrepreneurship are many. Most importantly, women are, often for the first time, economically productive outside of their homes and have improved decision making power because of it. They gain new skills to improve their businesses and to help prevent medical emergencies in their families, avoid unwanted pregnancies, and generally become more self-reliant.

We measure all of these results and have seen that 95% of women have repaid their loans on time with interest, the majority have had improved incomes, and almost all of them have had improved health knowledge and self-esteem.

Our Service Delivery Model

We foster sustainability by:

  • Aligning with the national development priorities of the countries where we operate
  • Building strong and effective partnerships with local NGOs, community leaders and volunteers, healthcare providers and municipal authorities
  • Ensuring there is local participation in each program’s design, implementation and evaluation, including the active involvement and participation of women
  • Having accountability for each program’s design, management and results

Why focus on women?Why women?

Let’s touch on just a few facts:  

  • 70% of the world’s poor are women.
  • 2/3rds of illiterate people worldwide are women.
  • Nearly 2/3rds of women in developing countries are self-employed or work at home.
  • Ample evidence has shown that increases in women’s access to education and income generating opportunities are linked to things like lower fertility rates, increased female autonomy, and improved child health and nutrition. These improvements are also directly linked to a higher level of general development for the country.
  • When women empower themselves, everyone benefits! In our experience, at first many men have been reluctant to allow the women in their lives to receive micro-loans, health services, or basic education from Impact First. However, in most cases once men experience the positive impact on their families, they change their attitudes and begin to accept, and often even encourage, women to become involved.
  • Assisting women to empower themselves does not mean that we work only with women. We also focuses on youth and work with men to more thoroughly combat negative attitudes and behaviors.