In Malawi, women make up a large and ever-growing proportion of the workforce. However, 90% of women live in poverty and have been deprived of access to credit facilities and other financial services.  Banks often focus on men and formal businesses, leaving women neglected in the financial sector even though they contribute larger portions of their income to household consumption than their male counterparts.

When you empower the women in a community, you are in fact empowering the whole community. That’s why, when an opportunity arose to partner up with Microloan Foundation, an NGO dedicated to helping women become financially independent, we were more than happy to get involved.

After speaking to women in the Chiradzulu District of Blantyre, southern Malawi, we learned that the largest issue families were facing was a shortage of food. Two years of severe drought has caused a massive food crisis in the country. Access to capital would allow women and in turn their families, to support themselves during this difficult time. 

With this in mind, Muslim Hands in partnership with Microloan Foundation, launched a programme which offered small loans and business training to a group of 45 women so that they could start up their own businesses or keep their farms running efficiently. With a secure income, women can afford not only to feed their families, but also to send their children to school, giving them a way out of poverty.