MicroLoan Foundation

What MicroLoan Foundation does

MicroLoan Foundation is a UK-registered non-profit charitable organisation founded in 2002 by Peter Ryan, headquartered at 1-2 Paris Garden, London SE1 8ND. The organisation provides small business loans, financial literacy training, and ongoing mentoring to women entrepreneurs living in poverty in rural sub-Saharan Africa, with operating entities in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa (launched 2025), plus affiliated entities in the USA and Australia. Its field-based delivery model uses Loan & Training Officers (LTOs) who travel to remote rural communities to form loan groups of five women, deliver business and financial literacy training through song, dance, and role play to accommodate high illiteracy rates, and provide ongoing mentoring through a Centre Model that aggregates multiple groups for peer support, group lessons, and shared emergency funds.\n\nThe technology stack combines a group-based lending architecture with mobile money disbursement and repayment through MTN's platform (100% digital in Zambia), a customised digital savings platform built on MTN mobile money for female-led savings groups, and ESG-compliant loan products (solar-powered irrigation, drought-tolerant seeds, solar-powered fridges) developed with Frankfurt Business School consultants and supported by GIZ. Since 2002, the organisation has supported over 453,000 women across its livelihoods programme, including 324,000 across Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with £18 million in loans disbursed to 160,000+ women in 2022 alone. The Zambian operation serves 40,170 active clients with a ZMW 60.02 million loan book (September 2022), while Malawi operates 22 branches serving 32,000+ clients; 90% of clients engage in smallholder farming.\n\nThe revenue model combines individual and institutional donations (with Gift Aid providing a 25% uplift for UK taxpayers), interest income from for-profit lending entities owned by the non-profit parent, and wholesale financing from mission-aligned capital providers including the World Bank-funded FInES Project (administered through the Reserve Bank of Malawi), Grameen Credit Agricole, and Global Partnerships. The architectural choice—a non-profit parent owning for-profit lending subsidiaries—enables mission-aligned rather than shareholder-return-driven decisions on pricing and client protection. MicroLoan Foundation Zambia was recognised with the 2023 60 Decibels Top Impact Award, ranking 2nd out of 35 African financial service providers and 4th globally out of 114 FSPs surveyed in the 2023 Microfinance Index, with documented impact metrics including 84% food security improvement, 97% resilience to emergencies, and 98% quality of life improvement among clients.

Name

MicroLoan Foundation

Legal name

MicroLoan Foundation

Website

https://microloanfoundation.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

MicroLoan Foundation is a UK-registered charity providing small business loans, business training, and ongoing mentoring to women entrepreneurs living in poverty across sub-Saharan Africa, operating in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microfinance

NAICS

Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation (52229)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

Microfinance, Financial Inclusion & Inclusive Markets (BPAGABAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Microloans & Working Capital Loans (FSAKAGAA), Agricultural & Rural Microfinance (FSAKAGAG), Microenterprise Group Lending (Joint Liability) (FSAKAGAH), Microfinance & Community P2P Lending (FSAKAHAD), SME, Microfinance & Financial Inclusion Facilities (BPADACAI)

Keywords

• Social microfinance
• Group lending model
• Women's empowerment
• Financial inclusion
• Business training

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donors, institutional donors, and corporate partners contribute funds to support micro-loan capital, operational costs, and programme expansion. Gift Aid (UK tax reclaim scheme) increases donation value by 25%. Matched funding campaigns amplify individual contributions.
2. Loan Repayments and Interest Income: For-profit lending entities (owned by the non-profit parent) provide small loans to women. Loans are repaid with interest, generating revenue that sustains operations. Interest rates are periodically reduced as the organisation records strong results (e.g., 10 percentage point reduction in Zambia in October 2022). Interest rates are typically higher for newer clients and decrease over loan cycles.
3. Institutional Funding and Wholesale Financing: Partnership with World Bank-funded FInES Project (Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Scaling) administered through the Reserve Bank of Malawi provides affordable wholesale financing. Also supported by investors such as Grameen Credit Agricole and Global Partnerships who provide patient, mission-aligned capital.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

MicroLoan Foundation provides small business loans (starting from £13), business and financial literacy training, ongoing mentoring, and savings support to women entrepreneurs living in poverty in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Loans are delivered through a centre model of peer groups of five women, with disbursements and repayments handled digitally via mobile money, particularly in Zambia. The offering combines credit with non-financial services (training, mentoring, group solidarity) tailored for illiterate and unbanked rural clients.

Product overview

MicroLoan Foundation offers a social microfinance model combining small business loans with business training, mentoring, and mobile money integration. The core offering includes Social Microfinance Loans (starting from £13) delivered through a Centre Model structure that groups women into peer-support networks. Additional products include a Digital Savings Platform on MTN Mobile Money and ESG Compliant Loan Products for climate-smart agriculture including solar irrigation and adapted seeds. All loan disbursements are conducted digitally via mobile money, with training provided through accessible in-person sessions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Social Microfinance Loans Small business loans provided to women entrepreneurs living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, starting from £13 for first-time borrowers and growing over successive loan cycles based on repayment track record. Loans are paired with business training, mentoring, and savings support, and are delivered through the centre model of loan groups.
• Digital Savings Platform Digital savings facility built on MTN mobile money infrastructure in Zambia, specifically tailored for female-led savings groups in rural areas, allowing women to save safely, transparently and efficiently without cost.
• Centre Model Programme Organisational structure that brings multiple loan groups of five women together into larger centres. Enables peer-to-peer support, group lessons, training, and shared emergency fund management. Centre leaders are elected by members and time discipline is enforced with fines for late arrivals.
• ESG-Compliant Loan Products Specialised climate-smart loan products including solar-powered irrigation systems, adapted drought-tolerant seeds (maize, cowpeas, pigeon peas), and solar-powered fridges for rural businesses. Developed in collaboration with Frankfurt Business School and GIZ.
• Business and Financial Literacy Training In-person financial literacy and business skills training covering market research, savings strategies, profit reinvestment, and financial planning. Delivered through group sessions using song, dance, and role play to accommodate varying literacy levels among rural women clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% of clients reported increased food security (ability to provide regular meals for families)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and strategic.

• Mariella FrostrupminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Celebrated broadcaster and writer who presented MicroLoan Foundation's BBC Radio 4 Appeal on 12 January 2025. Mariella shared the story of Maretha, a single mother from rural Malawi, during the appeal broadcast which aired at 07:54 and 21:25 on BBC Radio 4.
• Frankfurt Business SchoolstrategicImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Collaborating with consultants from the Frankfurt Business School to develop ESG-compliant loan products. The partnership involves designing specialised loan offerings (solar-powered irrigation, adapted seeds, solar fridges) and training programmes for ESG risk management, integrating sustainability into the microfinance model.
• CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Participated in a panel discussion on gender smart innovation and digital transformation alongside MicroLoan Foundation. CGAP is a global partnership of development organisations working to advance financial inclusion. Their participation signals sectoral recognition of MicroLoan's work in digital financial services for women.
• UN WomenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Participated in MicroLoan Foundation's panel on gender smart innovation and digital transformation. UN Women is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment. Tinashe Sande, Gender Mainstreaming and Coordination Specialist at UN Women, spoke at the event.
• FSD Zambia (Financial Sector Deepening Zambia)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Participated in MicroLoan Foundation's panel on gender smart innovation and digital transformation. Charity Luchembe N Chikumbi, Director Policy and Digital Financial Services at FSD Zambia, contributed expertise on digital financial services policy and inclusion for women in Zambia.
• Linklaters LLPminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Linklaters facilitated MicroLoan Foundation's 20 Years of Impact celebration event in September 2022. The magic circle law firm provided event facilitation and organisational support for the anniversary event marking two decades of operations.
• The Language FactoryminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Specialist translation services company with over 30 years of experience. Has supported MicroLoan Foundation for many years. For Giving Tuesday 2022, pledged to match every donation up to £50,000, doubling the impact of all festive season donations.
• IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Director of IFAD's East and Southern Africa Division, participated in MicroLoan Foundation's panel on agrifinance and conservation farming. IFAD invests in rural people to eradicate poverty through agriculture and rural development.
• Women's World BankingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Rokaya Helfer, Moderator and Board Member at MicroLoan Foundation USA, moderated MicroLoan Foundation's agrifinance and conservation farming panel. Women's World Banking contributes expertise on women's financial inclusion in agriculture.
• Women's Digital Financial Inclusion Advocacy HubstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicroLoan Foundation was invited to be a partner of the Women's Digital Financial Inclusion Advocacy Hub, a catalyst for collective action to increase women's digital financial inclusion. Led by Women's World Banking and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the Hub unifies global and regional partners for coordinated advocacy campaigns.
• Women's World BankingstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading the Women's Digital Financial Inclusion Advocacy Hub. Women's World Banking is a global non-profit working to increase the strategic commitments, policies, and investments that expand digital financial inclusion for women. MicroLoan Foundation participates as a partner sharing expertise on serving rural women.
• UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development Fund)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-leads the Women's Digital Financial Inclusion Advocacy Hub alongside Women's World Banking. UNCDF is a UN capital investment agency that catalyses capital for the poor. Partnership enables MicroLoan Foundation to participate in collective advocacy for women's financial inclusion.

Scale indicators21 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BRAC: BRAC is the world's largest development NGO and operates BRAC Microfinance in multiple African countries, providing small loans to women entrepreneurs using group-lending methodologies similar to MicroLoan Foundation's centre model.
• Grameen Credit Agricole: Grameen Credit Agricole is a development finance institution providing patient capital to microfinance institutions serving women entrepreneurs; it is a direct investor in MicroLoan Foundation's lending operations.
• FINCA International: FINCA operates a global village banking microfinance model serving low-income entrepreneurs across Africa and other regions, with similar small-ticket loan products, group lending methodology and focus on women clients.
• VisionFund International: VisionFund is the microfinance arm of World Vision providing small loans to families in developing countries; notably MicroLoan's Malawi CEO Davison Rakasi previously served as Interim CEO of Vision Fund Malawi.
• Women's World Banking: Women's World Banking is a global non-profit dedicated to women's financial inclusion that co-leads the Women's Digital Financial Inclusion Advocacy Hub alongside MicroLoan Foundation and UNCDF.
• Kiva: Kiva is a P2P microlending platform that crowdfunds small loans for underserved entrepreneurs globally, including in African countries, with comparable mission of financial inclusion for unbanked populations.
• Grameen Bank: Grameen Bank pioneered group-based microfinance lending to women in poverty, the foundational model that MicroLoan Foundation's centre model and group lending structure closely mirrors.
• Opportunity International: Opportunity International provides microfinance and small business loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries including multiple African nations, with overlapping focus on rural women and financial inclusion.

Broad incumbents

• World Bank / IFC: World Bank is a major funder of microfinance through facilities like the FInES Project that MicroLoan Malawi partners with, and operates broadly in international development finance and SME support globally.
• CARE International: CARE International is a major humanitarian NGO operating in sub-Saharan Africa with overlapping programmes in women's economic empowerment, financial inclusion and rural poverty alleviation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MicroLoan
• Facebookfacebook.com/MicroLoanFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/microloan-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/microloanfoundation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MicroLoan Foundation