Learn about the work of Grameen Foundation, VIA International, the Foundation For Women, and Women’s Empowerment International. Each of these organizations offer a unique contribution to international microfinance. Engage in interesting dialogue about some of the current issues and trends in microfinance around the globe.

Foundation for Women

Foundation for Women is a locally founded organization working to empower women through the provision of small loans. The microcredit program seeks to raise female entrepreneurs traditionally deemed “unbankable” to higher rungs on the economic ladder through loans ranging from $250-$1,000. The Foundation for Women follows a traditional group lending model and holds weekly meetings to instill more successful repayments.

Speaker: Emily Peal, FFW Liberia CEO

Emily is the CEO of the Foundation for Women Liberia, a microcredit program committed to uplifting the women and country of Liberia. The program supports women financially, educationally and emotionally while building communities and offering scholarships for children to attend school. Emily began this work in 2007 when she returned home to her country after the election of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Born and raised in a small village in eastern Liberia, Emily learned early on the value of education. She and her brothers rose early to catch a water taxi canoe from their village to a neighboring town where school was still a 45-minute walk away once they reached the other side of the river. Emily did well in school and eventually earned a college degree from the University of Liberia in Monrovia.

While working for the World Bank, Emily was chosen employee of the year and given the opportunity to earn a Masters Degree at Michigan State University. The war in her country brought her to the US for the second time; this time as a refugee. After being separated from her husband and children for years, Emily was finally reunited with them and the family was sponsored by a woman in Alpine to settle in San Diego County. Emily worked for the University of California San Diego until finding her way to the Foundation for Women in early 2006. Her strong desire to help the women of her country brought her home to Liberia; the collaboration with the Foundation for Women and microcredit gave her the means to do that.

Women’s Empowerment

Women’s Empowerment International (WE) is a San Diego-based 501(c)(3) organization that partners with nonprofit microfinance organizations — banks for the poor – to provide modest loans and business services to women in Benin, Honduras, Mexico and San Diego so they can start or expand a business and help lift themselves and their families out of poverty. With over 700 members and supporters, WE’s distinguishing features are that it dedicates all donations entirely to programs; keeps in communication with the enterprising women it assists; reissues all repaid loans, and is volunteer-based.

Speaker: Jean Fort, Founding WE Director

A founding Director of Women’s Empowerment International, Jean Fort serves as chair of the WE Committee on Microfinance Partnerships, Research, and Education. Working with about 15 volunteers, she oversees WE’s partnerships with microfinance institutions in San Diego, Mexico, Honduras, and Ghana; the collection, summarizing, and analysis of poverty and microfinance information; and the development of WE’s educational programs.

Jean is retired from the University of California, San Diego, where she worked for 35 years and served as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies for the entire UCSD campus. With long-standing interests in international affairs and social justice, Jean has a strong desire to help reduce poverty.

Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation helps the world’s poorest, especially women, improve their lives and escape poverty through access to microfinance and technology. With a footprint in 36 nations, Grameen Foundation is able to identify local needs and share best practices and lessons learned to enhance and expand local programs that move women from poverty to financial self-sufficiency.

Speaker: Peg Ross, Director of Human Capital Center

Peg Ross joined Grameen Foundation in August 2008 as director of the Human Capital Center (HCC). The HCC helps anti-poverty focused financial institutions strengthen their people practices and align them with overall business strategy. Peg has over 30 years of experience and served as the HR lead on microfinance teams in Bangladesh and Bhutan. Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, she was VP of HR at Fortune 500 industry leader Equity Office Properties Trust.

Peg has also held HR leadership positions in the legal, financial, and distribution industries, gaining additional international experience in Tokyo, Japan. Peg received her M.S. in Organization Development from Loyola University of Chicago and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is certified as a Senior

VIA International

Via International programs address the basic needs of communities by building the capacities of community members to become agents of positive change. The community members in turn create opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities. Via International has been working in the border region for over 35 years.

Speaker: Elisa Sabatini, Executive Director

Formerly with World SHARE, she helped create an autonomous SHARE organization in Guatemala, develop sustainable food distribution in Mexico and an agricultural loan fund. At Via International she provides strategic direction, creates new programs, and secures all resources for activities in Mexico, Guatemala, the United States and Canada. Program areas include family health, micro-finance, sustainable agriculture, community organizing and development education. In 2003, the VolunTours “social business” joined the family of Via programs.