Microfinance alone will not end poverty. It is interlaced with several other key factors that contribute to poverty alleviation. It serves as catalyst for implementing these other critical development activities, such as education by generating the income needed to send and keep children in school; and nutrition and health by raising HIV/AIDS awareness among its participants.

Microfinance is a bottoms-up tool that empowers the poor rather than give them a hand-out, allowing them to assume responsibility of the lending and repayment process until such a time that they become self-sustaining group, or ultimately, integrated into mainstream financial services.

Larger, well established microfinance organizations such as Grameen, FINCA, and Opportunity International experience loan repayment rates in the 95% to 98% range. Global statistics also show that:

• One job can be created or sustained for every $174 loaned
• Each loan can impact up to 7.5 people
• 70% of African clients care for AIDS orphans
• In the first year:
  - $10 can helps one poor individual
  - $76 can finance one entrepreneur
• Microfinance advocates gender equality by empowering women in their communities. World Vision reports that an estimated 68% of loan recipients are women.
• Clients are trained for success, they are not just given money, but training and mentoring to build confidence and the basic business skills
• Microfinance works to build up local rural economies by helping create more jobs from the established microenterprises