This means they have no means to securely save their money, no access to ethical loans, no financial education and as a result, are at risk of becoming indebted to high-interest loans.
Most of these people are living in low-income developing countries, where careful financial management is necessary to support the families and businesses in the communities they reside, to effectively prepare for, respond to and recover from livelihood shocks and stresses.
Access to basic financial products and services can transform a community. It can unlock opportunities for education, employment, entrepreneurship and can provide a safety net to manage Irish and absorb financial shock in times of crisis.
The Foundation plays an important and key role in educating people and assisting in the development of credit union movements internationally, providing safe and ethical financial solutions for communities and working towards the goal of achieving financial inclusion for all.
We’re proud to say that our colleagues, from almost 200 credit unions around the country, contributed over €530,000 to our work in 2019. These generous contributions enabled The Foundation to support 466 credit unions and their 152,000 members in our three partner countries – Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.