Striving to make finance accessible

Access to finance could reduce violence, empower the most vulnerable in society and improve the livelihoods of Cambodia’s poorest people, a conference on community-led funding heard on Wednesday. … Sarah Sitts, country manager of the international NGO Pact, introduced the funding model of savings-led micro-finance (SLMF). In contrast to credit-led microfinancing, in which an organisation lends to smallholders, SLMF was a fund established by 20 to 25 voluntary members who lend within that fund, Sitts said. … According to Chanthavy Meas, program officer at a women’s empowerment project with PACT, SLMF has had a significant impact on the lives of more than 4,000 Cambodian women participating in the program. …

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032964776/Business/striving-to-make-finance-accessible.html