“The poor themselves can create a poverty-free world .... all we have to do is to free them from the chains that we have put around them.”

- Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of the Grameen Bank

Financial exclusion is a fundamental dilemma for many of the world's poorest people, who are unable to access financial services, and therefore unable to borrow or save money. In the developing world, billions of adults don’t have access to any financial services due to their poverty, illiteracy, gender or because they live in a remote region. This adds to the vulnerability of these people, as they are unable to obtain credit on reasonable terms to start or grow small enterprises, obtain insurance to protect against unexpected costs or loss of income or have a safe place for savings.

 

Results Australia used its collective voice in the 1990s and 2000s to call for increased access for vulnerable people to credit and financial services. We made history when our advocacy efforts led to the release of the Australian Government's first microfinance strategy in 2010 titled ' Financial Services for the Poor'.