Central to WCCN’s women empowerment initiatives is the belief that women deserve the opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty. They have the right to own land, to obtain an education, to be producers, to have adequate healthcare, and to provide for themselves and their families without the threat of violence. Historically, more than two-thirds of our partner agencies' clients have been women.  These women are starting their own businesses and expanding their farms with the dream of securing a better, healthier, future for themselves and their families.

WCCN helps people work their way out of poverty in Latin America by providing microfinance loans to low-income entrepreneurs and small-scale farmers. We help get their small businesses off the ground, or expand their farms as they’ve always dreamed. As their businesses grow, so too do their communities, creating more opportunities for others around them. In Nicaragua, for instance, a small microfinance loan of just a few hundred dollars can help ensure small-business dreams are put into action.

WCCN helps small-scale coffee farmers increase their income and access to international fair trade markets by lending to coffee cooperatives. Latin American coffee cooperatives organized by small-scale farmers often lack the cash to purchase their members’ coffee harvest. When this happens, farmers often sell to independent buyers for a lower price or wait months before receiving payment. By providing short-term loans to coffee cooperatives at the time of harvest, WCCN can add to the 1.3 million farmers in more than 70 countries that are represented by the fair trade movement, ensuring more small-scale farmers are receiving a fair price for their coffee.

Inadequate housing is one of the most visible consequences of poverty and negatively affects the health and vitality of communities. WCCN works with partner organizations to provide technical assistance and improvements to housing conditions of marginalized populations. Combining sweat equity, donated funds, and affordable loans, WCCN is able to assist in providing accessible financing to people who cannot afford, nor qualify for, traditional financing.

WCCN lends to microfinance and fair trade partners which work with the poorest and hardest to reach people.  This includes rural farmers, women business owners, and indigenous/minority groups who, for whatever reason, have been excluded from the financial system.  WCCN finances organizations which also provide support services provided to micro-borrowers or cooperative members, such as business training, health services, and others, as we view these are essential to promoting financial inclusion.