Haiti's Largest Microfinance Network, Built Shoulder to Shoulder With Rural Women

Fonkoze is Haiti's largest microfinance institution, founded to give the country's poor -- overwhelmingly rural women -- access to savings, credit, and business training that commercial banks won't offer. Over 90 percent of its branches operate in rural Haiti, and 60 percent are the only financial institution present in their area, reaching tens of thousands of loan clients and hundreds of thousands of savers. Beyond lending, Fonkoze runs a 'Staircase Out of Poverty' program combining education, healthcare referrals, and business skills training to help the most vulnerable rural households build lasting assets. The organization has repeatedly kept branches open through Haiti's earthquakes, hurricanes, and gang violence, adapting loan terms so clients who lose everything can recover rather than default.