All microfinance charities
Filters
Ramon Aboitiz Foundation (RAFI)
Philippines
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Tinago, Central Visayas
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Social Services
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Stiftung Schweiz ForAfrika
Switzerland
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Zürich, ZH
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Disaster Relief
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ChildFund Australia Representative Office in Vietnam
Vietnam
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Hanoi
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Education
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Microfund for Women
Jordan
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Amman
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Community Development
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Dakahlya Businessmen's Association for Community Development
Egypt
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Mansoura
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Community Development
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FINCA Jordan
Jordan
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Amman
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International
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Tamweelcom
Jordan
·
Amman
·
Community Development
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Kheth'Impilo-DRC
DR Congo
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Kinshasa
·
Health
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What is a microfinance charity?
Microfinance charities widen access to financial services for people mainstream banks overlook: the directory above lists microloan and microcredit nonprofits, savings group programs, and financial inclusion organizations, and the directory can be filtered by country and size. GiveRadar derives the microfinance tag from each organization's name, stated mission, and registry classification; no organization can opt in to it or pay for it. Many of these organizations treat lending as one tool in wider poverty work.
A microfinance charity is a nonprofit that provides small loans, savings services, and other basic financial tools to people whom mainstream banks do not serve, typically because they lack collateral, credit history, or a nearby branch. The word covers a family of models: microcredit charities that lend small working-capital sums directly, organizations that build member-run savings groups, and funders that channel capital and training to local lending institutions. It is worth knowing that not every microfinance provider is a charity: much of the sector is made up of for-profit or bank-owned lenders, and this page lists only organizations that appear in nonprofit and charity registries. The country and size filters above separate village-level savings programs from international financial inclusion organizations.
What do microfinance charities do?
Microfinance charities deliver financial services that conventional banks find too small or too remote to offer, and pair them with training so the money is usable. Typical work includes:
- Microloans: small working-capital loans to market traders, smallholder farmers, and home-based businesses that cannot offer collateral
- Savings groups: organizing and training member-run groups whose participants pool deposits and lend to one another
- Financial literacy training: budgeting, bookkeeping, and loan management taught alongside the lending itself
- Funding local partners: grants, loan capital, or guarantees for community-based lending institutions and cooperatives
- Micro-insurance: low-premium cover for crops, livestock, health costs, or funerals, sold in amounts small households can afford
- Business support for borrowers: mentoring, cooperative formation, and links to markets for the enterprises the loans finance
- Advocacy for financial inclusion: pressing for fair lending rules and consumer protection for low-income borrowers
Loans are not grants: what to check before you give to a microfinance charity
Microfinance sits between charity and finance, so before you give, work out which one you are funding: your donation may become revolving loan capital that is repaid and lent out again, it may fund training and group formation, or it may cover the organization's own operating costs. A charity's own materials and filings usually say which; if they do not, that silence is itself useful information. Three further checks apply to lending in particular. First, confirm the legal form: the microfinance sector includes many for-profit lenders, so check the registration details on the profile to see what kind of organization you are actually funding. Second, look for interest rate disclosure: charging borrowers interest is normal and often necessary to cover delivery costs in remote areas, but an organization that lends should be willing to say what its borrowers pay. Third, treat repayment figures carefully: a strong repayment rate means loans come back, not that borrowers ended up better off, and debt that helps one household can burden another. Profiles in this directory show registration details where available and filings where filed, plus an integrity assessment; it measures disclosure alone, not whether the lending works. The step-by-step routine is in our guide for donors; to vet one specific lender, run it through the charity checker.
Common questions
What is a microfinance charity?
A microfinance charity is a nonprofit that provides small loans, savings services, and other basic financial tools to people excluded from mainstream banking. Some lend directly to microentrepreneurs, some organize member-run savings groups, and some fund and train local lending institutions. Every listing above carries the microfinance tag and can be narrowed by country and by size.
How does donating to a microfinance charity work?
A donation to a microfinance charity is a gift, not a loan: unlike person-to-person lending platforms, you do not get the money back. Depending on the organization, your donation may seed revolving loan capital that is repaid and re-lent, fund savings group formation and financial training, or support operating costs. Check the charity's own website and filings to see how it says donations are used before you give.
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