Lendwithcare.org supports entrepreneurs in developing countries
The microfinance website has made more than 26,000 loans to small-scale entrepreneurs
The microfinance website Lendwithcare.org has now lent a total of more than £1m to entrepreneurs in developing countries.
The website, which is run by the development charity Care International and supported by the Co-operative, enables people to lend a minimum of £15 to develop businesses that could lift the beneficiaries out of poverty.
The money is paid back at the end of the loan term, so lenders can reinvest it in another entrepreneur or withdraw it. More than 26,000 loans have now been made to small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries since the website was launched last year. On average, each lender supports six entrepreneurs.
Jay Roy Mendew, a father of three from the Philippines who runs a convenience store, received the loan that broke through the £1m barrier.
Tracey Horner, head of Lendwithcare.org, said: "More and more people are discovering that making a small, affordable loan can make a massive difference to people seeking to work their own way out of poverty.
"The fact that lenders can then recycle that same money to another entrepreneur makes this recession-proof giving."
Lendwithcare.org won the best website category at the Third Sector Excellence Awards in 2011.
