One day all women will be able to build a secure financial future for themselves and their households.

2010 Annual ReportWomens World Banking

Director, Communications: Julie Slama | Staff Writer: Madelyn Morris | Design: Rodney Gracia

Credits

The mission of the Womens World Banking global network is to expand the economic assets, participation and power of low-income women and their house-holds by helping them access financial services, knowledge and markets.

Womens World Banking 2010 Annual Report

Although 2010 was a year of unprecedented growth in microfinance, it was also a year of considerable introspec-tion as the industry grappled with questions of profitability, transparency and impact. While some of these questions were overdue, they prompted many to re-examine their beliefs about how microfinance can and should adapt and reform. It also forced the realization that the close knowl-edge of our clients lives and financial needstraditionally a hallmark of microfinancemay have become secondary to the push for greater numbers of clients.

Womens World Banking welcomed a discussion of its commitment to an unwavering focus on women clients and their financial needs. In fact, we had asked many of these same questions of ourselves in 2007, while formulat-ing a three-year strategic plan for 2008-10. It was less than 12 months after Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a time of excitement and enthusiasm. In retrospect our discussions on the three-year plan may seem prescient, but we chose to embrace our central mission of providing women clients with access to financial products and services as an important step along the path out of poverty. As we embark on our next three-year strategic plan, we are proud to celebrate our achieve-ments, which include:

All WWB network members signing a pledge to provide socially responsible, transparent, client-centered microfinance products and services. This includes our five new members and eight retail banks, expanding into four countries in some of the most underserved regions.

Assisting network members in providing a full suite of financial products, including microin-surance and savingsespecially savings for girls.

Working to build principled, visionary leadership industry-wide by launching the Center for Microfinance Leadership.

Throughout this document we will show you how we delivered on our targets and how we intend to build on those achievements during the next three years and beyond. Our conviction remains one of providing women clients with an array of products, and the financial education to understand them, as the best way to ensure that microfinance builds on its earliest ideals and promise.

Mary Ellen Iskenderian President and CEO, Womens World Banking

Letter from the

President

The two boards of Womens World Banking are charged with, in addition to fiscal viability, ensuring that WWBs work on the ground is relevant, client-focused, and produces successful outcomes. No other microfinance organization has leading practitioners as part of their governance. The diversity of WWBs two governing bodies has enabled the boards to navigate within the changing landscape of microfinance, and withstand the pressure of remaining financially sustainable in a difficult economic climate. To this end, the Board commissioned a three-year strategic plan which focused on WWBs long-term sustainability and targeted impact.

As a network, WWB has stood apart in its commitment to empow-ering low-income women around the world, and the results have been astounding. The network has outperformed the industry in both social and financial performance metrics demonstrating that the double bottom line is not only attainable, but that poverty al-leviation and financial sustainability are complementary.

Toward the goals of increasing outreach to the millions of unserved poor while proving that serving women is good business, the 2011-2013 strategy includes our new social enterprise: the WWB Holding Company (HoldCo). Through HoldCo, WWB will be the owner-op-erator of nascent MFIs in underserved markets. As a board, we are proud of this development because it will allow WWB to apply its over 30 years of expertise to the creation of principled and socially responsible microfinance institutions. The first-hand experience of owning and operating institutions will inform our product devel-opment activities by giving us deeper insights into the needs of women in markets around the world.

Thirty years ago WWB helped to define microfinance as a way to give women access to basic financial services. The world, and the microfinance industry, has evolved and we are once again at the forefront of innovation as the pre-eminent voice for ensuring mi-crofinance is available for women.

Letter from the

WWB Boards

Inger Elisabeth Prebensen Former Chair, SWWB Board of Trustees

Jennifer Riria Chair, SWWB Board of Trustees

Beth K. Roberts Chair, Friends of WWB Board of Directors

2 3

2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

Microfinance is the provision of fi-nancial services to poor people who have been excluded from the for-mal banking sector. Most often the term is used to refer to the practice

of giving small loans to poor clients, to be used to start small businesses. Customers use these loans in different ways: some purchase a bicycle to transport vegetables to a market, or use the money to buy fer-tilizer for their crops, or a sewing machine to start a tailoring business. However, they all have one goal: to make a decent living and support their families basic needs. Many are able to send their children to school for the first time, eat three meals a day or make seemingly small home improvements that can actually have a significant effect on the household such as replacing a mud floor with a wood floor. In this way, microfinance has multiplier effects includ-ing improved education, health and quality of life. As the industry matures, however, microfinance increasingly includes more than credit. Women, in particular, as the principal guardians of household financial security, need more than just business capital. They need the opportunity to build assets and protect against disaster, so microfinance must encompass a broader range of products including savings, insurance, and even pension plans.

Why Women and Microfinance?The initial motivation for microfinance roughly 35 years ago was, to a great extent, gender neutral. The pioneering microfinance institutions (MFIs) sought to provide credit to poor entrepreneurs who had no assets to pledge as collateral and, consequently, were denied access to capital by the formal banking sector.

It quickly emerged, however, that women entrepre-neurs invested the profits from their businesses in ways that would have a longer-lasting, more profound impact on the lives of their families and communities. The woman entrepreneur as the gateway to household security became a fundamen-tal premise of the microfinance business model and the success of microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool.

Microfinance: More Than Loans

Womens World Banking seeks to be the pre-eminent voice for women in microfinance. In 2010, WWB worked with seven institutions to initiate specific gender programs or products, trained 55 women leaders in microfinance, and joined critical industry initiatives such as the Social Performance Task Force to ensure that microfinance continues to serve women.

Regina Kaziri

Peace Through Prosperity: Regina Kaziri

Regina Kaziris life changed dramatically when civil war hit Burundi in 1993. Her home and possessions were destroyed leaving her and her family in a state of destitution. With few options, in 1995 Regina turned to CECM, a microfinance institution in Burundi that wel-comed Hutus and Tutsis alike, to help rebuild her life. CECM granted Regina her first loan of US $50 which she used to invest in her rice fields.

Access to microloans, savings and banking services has helped Regina grow to become not only a successful farmer but an entre-preneur, giving her the capital to invest in a number of small enterprises that have helped support her and her seven children. From the day I was granted the loan, it was the beginning of a new life. Mainly because of my involvement with CECM, I have gained honor and respect within my community.

Regina has recruited many women from her community who were affected by the 12-year Burundian civil war to join CECM, helping to give them support and access to credit and a safe place to save their money. Their inspiring example of unified efforts between Hutus and Tutsis has set an example, helping to heal the ethnic divide that plagued the community in the wake of the civil war.

Microfinance encompasses more than loans and WWB is committed to ensuring that women have access to a full suite of financial products, including savings and insurance, to in-crease control of their financial situation.

Client of Caisse Cooprative dEpargne et

de Crdit Mutuel (CECM)

4 5

Womens World Banking (WWB) is a network of 39 global micro-finance institutions that share a commitment to serving women. WWB works with these institu-

tions to design financial products and services that fulfill womens needs because when you invest in women you produce a multiplier effect on the well-being of their households and communities. By providing innovative approaches that we can repli-cate and scale we can prove that investing in women directly can be both profitable, proving the business case, and generate positive social benefits. WWB works with microfinance institutions to:

Create innovative financial products and services including credit, savings and insurance, financial education and delivery channels and works with partners to bring these products to scale. We do this through understanding the financial needs of wom-en and then creating products to fit those needs. By designing tailored products and using marketing and delivery techniques not currently used in micro-finance, we seek to give women not only access to financial services, but also control over their assets.

Provide institution-strengthening services to support microfinance institutions, including gender diversity initiatives, and financial and risk management train-ing and support.

Develop principled, visionary leaders and meritocratic organizations through its Center for Microfinance Leadership; and

Share knowledge and innovation by providing network members opportunities to exchange best practices with other microfinance leaders. WWB uses its posi-tion as a global network to transfer knowledge about what works for product design, but also to help MFIs learn from the experiences of other institu-tions or regions. For example, in 2010 a network member in Tunisia was considering becoming a regulated bank and WWB facilitated a visit to Peru, which has a very favorable regulatory market. The exchange allowed management from the MFI and Tunisian regulators to visit Peruvian MFIs and the Central Bank to better understand the challenges and successes in crafting microfinance regulation.

Strengthening Institutions that Strengthen Women

6 7

Latin America & the Carribean

Bolivia

FundacinBolivianaparaelDesarrollodelaMujer(FUNBODEM)

Brazil

BancodaFamlia

Chile

SantanderBanefe

Colombia

Fundacindelamujer FundacinMundoMujer(FMM)Popayn BancoWWBS.A.

Dominican Republic

BancoADOPEM

Mexico

FinComn

Paraguay

InterfisaFinanciera

Peru

CajaMunicipaldeAhorroyCrditodeArequipa(CMACArequipa)

BancodelaMicroempresa(Mibanco)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Bnin

AssociationpourlaPromotionetlAppuiauDvel-oppementdesMicro-Entreprises(PADME)

Burundi

CaisseCooprativedEpargneetdeCrditMutuel(CECM)

Ethiopia

PovertyEradication&CommunityEmpowerment(PEACE)

The Gambia

GambiaWomensFinanceAssociation(GAWFA)

Ghana

WomensWorldBankingGhana

Kenya

EquityBank KenyaWomenFinanceTrust(KWFT)

Uganda

FinanceTrust

Gross portfolio outstanding: $2.9

billion

Savings: $1.7 billion

2.3 million clients, 58 percent women

Average loan: $1,968

Gross portfolio outstanding: $1.2

billion

Savings: $1.4 billion

6.6 million clients, 57 percent women

Average loan: $1,407

Europe, Middle East & North Africa

Egypt

LeadFoundation

Jordan

MicrofundforWomen(MFW)

Morocco

AssociationAlAmana

Tunisia

endainter-arabe

Bosnia and Herzegovina

MI-BOSPO

Russia

WomensMicrofinanceNetwork(WMN)

Asia

Bangladesh

ASA DeltaLifeInsuranceCompany,Ltd. ShaktiFoundationforDisadvantagedWomen

India

FriendsofWomensWorldBanking-India(FWWB) SEWABank SHAREMicrofinLtd. SpandanaSphoortyFinancialLimited UjjivanFinancialServicesPvtLtd.

Mongolia

XacBank

Pakistan

KashfFoundation/KashfMicrofinanceBank

Philippines

CARDBank NegrosWomenforTomorrowFoundation(NWTF)

Sri Lanka

WomenDevelopmentFederation(WDF) SarvodayaEconomicEnterprisesDevelopmentServices

(SEEDS)

Gross portfolio outstanding: $2.4

billion

Savings: $422 million

16.5 million clients, 93 percent women

Average loan: $472

Gross portfolio outstanding: $424 million

772,000 clients, 63 percent women

Average loan: $802

A Network Committed to ServingLow-Income Women

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2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

More than 30 years ago the micro-finance industry was founded on the principle of lending money to poor women who had been ex-cluded from the formal financial

sector. These women demonstrated in their high repayment rates that the poor, despite not having traditional forms of collateral, could be good clients. Today, as the industry becomes more advanced and sophisticated, WWB is committed to ensuring that women still have access to appropriate and sustain-able loans that meet their needs. WWB knows that women need distinct products: they are more likely to have smaller, home-based businesses because of child care duties, they are less likely to have property in their name to pledge as collateral, they tend to be less literate, and their mobility is often restricted. This is especially true in rural areas where geographic isolation, farm responsibilities and control-ling smaller, less-profitable crops can make it hard for women to ac-cess loans. In spite of producing over half the worlds food, women farmers receive only 1 percent of all agricultural credit products, greatly inhibiting their ability to grow their businesses.

WWB is working to develop products that meet the needs of rural womenone of the largest segments of the worlds poor. This can include adjusting col-lateral requirements to be more accommodating; taking away unnecessary processes such as requir-ing a woman to get her husbands signature on a loan; or increasing accessibility through mobile phones, ATMs and kiosk banking. From the appli-cation process, to delivery of the loan, to customer service, WWB works with its network of MFIs to understand how certain practices can inadvertently exclude women and to adapt products accordingly.

Microcredit: Investing in Women

Womens World Banking facilitated more than 76,000 individual loans, including rural finance, to low-income clients across China, India, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uganda, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.

Ester Lumbo

Ester Lumbo: Weaving a Financial Safety Net

In 1994, Ester Lumbo and her husband Bar-tolome faced the most challenging hurdle of their livesfighting for their daughters life as she went through heart surgery. To afford the surgery and treatment the couple cut back on all of their personal and business expenses, eating very little and taking out a loan to pay for the costs. After a lengthy recovery their daughter healed; however, the couple was left with signifi-cant debt. The Lumbos eked out a living by making mats and bags from Pandan leaves, the local craft of their hometown, Calatrava in the northern part of Negros Occiden-tal, Philippines. Both Ester and Bartolome learned to weave the indigenous Pandan leaves from their parents. In addition to weaving, Bartolome helped his wife by peddling the finished products in the neighboring towns. He traveled around the island, selling his wares at each towns market. He even sold his wifes products in the city, going door-to-door in office buildings.

Surviving on a hand-to-mouth existence while trying to pay back the moneylenders, Ester jumped at the chance to join Negros Women for Tomorrow Foun-dation (NWTF)-Project Dungganon, a program that provides enterprise capital, after learning from one of her husbands relatives that the project was opening a center in their village. Ester borrowed PHP 3,000 (US $120) as her first loan which she used as revolving capital for her mat and bag-making business. This capital was integral to helping to pay off the money

she had borrowed to cover her daughters medical expenses.

Over the years, NWTF Project Dungganon played a very critical role in Esters life. She grew her business through borrowing increasingly larger loans, at-tending business training programs and using other NWTF non-financial support services. Today, Ester can comfortably provide for her family, but also employs 30 workers in her community and in the neighboring town of Toboso. Her products are now being exported abroad through two international buyers who send her crafts to the United States. On November 17, 2010, Ester received the Masikap National Prize of the 2010 Micro Entrepreneur of the Year Award given by the Citi Foundation, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Mi-crofinance Council of the Philippines.

Client of Negros Women for Tomorrow

Foundation

Poor rural women are particularly isolated from the formal financial sector because they are difficult to reach and are often confined to more traditional domestic roles. Womens World Banking is committed to finding creative solutions to reaching these women by of-fering loan products that take into account collateral and mobility constraints.

0

50

100

150

200MFI Outreach# of Poorest Families

Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Latin America & Caribbean

Africa & Middle East

Asia

Nu

mb

er o

f Po

ores

t Fa

milie

s in

Million

s

Source: Microcredit SummitThe Global Demand for Microfinance

64.2% Coverage

9.8% Coverage

31.2% Coverage7.7% Coverage

182.4

117.18

79.9

7.85 9.12.83 3.5 .27

10 11

2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

WWB knows from its research that poor women, those living on less than US$2 a day, are inherent sav-ers but are forced to save infor-mally in unreliable ways: under a

mattress, or through buying livestock because they dont have access to savings accounts. While their financial lives are complicated; juggling subsistence needs, emergency expenses, and school fees, with an unpredictable income, they still manage to save on average 10 to 15 percent of their income. WWB client research confirmed that low-income women are interested in a better alternative: a savings pro-gram that is secure, convenient, has low-fees and is confidential. Beyond meeting the basic financial needs of the poor, several studies have shown that access to formal savings accounts can lead to female empowerment, and changes in behavior that affect health and nutrition.

In 2010 WWB worked closely with four institu-tions; Kenya Women Finance Trust-DTM, Banco ADOPEM (Dominican Republic) Kashf Microfi-nance Bank (Pakistan) and Banco WWB (Colombia) to implement savings products that meet the needs of women. For example, women need a convenient way to make small, frequent deposits without taking time away from their child care duties or from run-ning their businesses. WWB is testing ways to use local merchants to accept deposits through point-of-sale terminals, and to build on mobile phone banking with products that resonate with women so

this technological innovation becomes a real tool for savings. Women also like saving toward goals; WWB is piloting programmed savings accounts with several network members, which help poor women build assets over time. Perhaps the biggest challenge is offering savings products in a way that is sus-tainable for the microfinance institution yet keeps customers fees as low as possible. WWB is working with its network members to ensure that savings products meet the needs of clients and are sustain-able so that helping women build assets becomes an integral part of microfinance.

Access to A Safe Place to Save: Creating Financial Security

Womens World Banking worked with four network members to develop savings products; more than 670,000 clients have opened savings accounts at institutions in Pakistan, the Dominican Republic and Kenya.

The poor need more than credit. Womens World Banking is committed to ensuring that clients have a range of financial services including savings, which allow them to plan for the future. Savings mobilization also builds institutional capacity of microfinance institu-tions by providing an important source of local low-cost capital.

A study in the Philippines showed that access to certain savings products increased womens economic empowerment, including decision-making power over purchases, family planning, and childrens education.

A randomized control trial in Western Kenya found that women who had access to a formal savings account were able to save and invest 45 percent more in their businesses after six months, leading to increased purchasing power for food and personal expenditures. The same study revealed that women with formal savings accounts were better able to afford emergency health services without depleting the money invested in their businesses.

Source: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Financial Services for the Poor: Savings Statistics

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2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

The total global population of girls ages 10 to 24already the largest in his-toryis expected to peak in the next decade. The breadth of issues facing girls is vast and girls in developing

countries are particularly vulnerable. Their physi-cal safety is at risk as they are more likely to be subject to violence, sexual assault, and HIV than men. They are often valued less than boys: when families fall on hard times, girls are often the first ones to be pulled from school to dedicate their time to wage-earning activities and are fed less frequently. Whether or not they are able to attend school, they are also burdened with household chores and have little or no time to spend with peers, leaving them isolated and overworked. Research suggests that by serving a girl at the vulnerable crossroads of adolescence, develop-ment programs can have the greatest impact not only on that girl, but can empower her to be a catalyst for change in her family and community. In other words, investing in adolescent girls can have one of the highest returns. However, once that window of adolescence closes, we have lost the op-portunity to impact a generation.

Early evaluation of girls savings projects suggests that increased savings is associated with a number of positive outcomes including higher educational aspirations and attainment at both the secondary

and tertiary levels. Investing in girls education cre-ates a ripple effect: an extra year of primary school boosts her eventual wages 10 to 20 percent, she marries later, and has fewer children. Womens World Banking works with network members to understand girls as a client segment and develop sustainable models for providing them with savings products and financial education.

Youth Savings: Teaching Girls to Dream Big

Womens World Banking has worked with microfinance partners in Mongolia and the Do-minican Republic to provide financial education to 9,000 young men and women. More than 6,000 girls have opened savings accounts.

In 2008, WWB launched a youth savings program with XacBank (Mongolia) and Banco ADOPEM (Do-minican Republic) sponsored by the Nike Foundations Girl Effect initia-tive.

WWB has assisted its partners to be the first institutions in their markets to treat girls as genuine bank cus-tomers, on the same level as adults. This is demonstrated in the design of tailored marketing materials including brochures, passbooks and piggybanks, as well as how bank staff communicate with parents and girls.

WWB is also helping these banks integrate financial education messages and tools into the mar-keting of products, including passing out simple savings plans to girls when they open accounts. This orientation is not just about sell-ing products but also enhancing the financial capability of the client. The result is an offering which can literally motivate girls to save.

Savings and Financial Education for Girls

Providing a place for girls to open bank accounts goes far beyond financial services: it also changes mindsets and repositions girls to build not only their assets but their opportuni-ties. WWB will expand its innovative youth financial education programs in hopes of giv-ing more girls the chance to control their financial future.

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2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

Research has shown that healthcare costs exert the most financial pressure on poor families. Medical emergencies can place a huge burden on households already struggling to stay afloat. Short-term

solutions such as selling productive assets includ-ing livestock or farming equipment only serve as a catalyst for moving further into poverty, depriving families of the tools they once had to generate rev-enue. Moreover, medical problems are compounded by the fact that the poor are less likely to seek treat-ment early in an illness for fear of losing income by taking time away from their families or businesses. Both poor men and women suffer from lack of access to healthcare, but the need to serve women is particu-larly acute: much of the insurance available is gender-neutral, preclud-ing coverage for maternity related healthcare, a predicament that can cause women to delay or forgo critical hospital visits.

In April 2010, Womens World Bank-ing helped its network member Mi-crofund for Women (Jordan) launch The Caregiver Policy (Riaya in Arabic), a first-of-its kind insurance product that provides a cash benefit

after hospitalization to help with costs associated with loss of business, medical expenses, and trans-portation. Unlike the majority of insurance products available, the Caregiver benefit was designed to cover all hospital visits related to pregnancy, a fea-ture that Womens World Banking felt was critical to include in order to improve maternal health. Clients can use their coverage on anything from household needs, lost revenue while their businesses have been closed due to a medical emergency to transportation to a hospital.

Microinsurance: Protecting Assets and Families

Womens World Banking has worked with Microfund for Women in Jordan to provide in-surance to 11,000 clients policies on which 270 claims have been made, 40 percent of them related to maternal health issues.

Bayan Al Dousoqi

Bayan Al Dousoqi: Caregiver and Entrepreneur

Bayan Al Dousoqi is 49 years old and has been a client of Micro-fund for Women in Jordan for more than nine years. Bayan is married, has five daughters and three sons, and lives with her husband and sons. Many years ago, Bayan began as a client by taking a loan to grow her embroidery project into a larger business. During that time, Bayan fell ill with cancer. Though she was able to receive treatment, the costs were high, and she lost significant income from her business while she was being treated. As a result of her many surgeries, Bayan suffered a number of complica-tions, some of which continue to afflict her.

Recently, when she returned to Microfund for Women to renew her loan, they told her about the Riaya Caregiver insurance product, a program that helps women if they go to the hospital. Through Riaya, Bayan was able to receive US$14 for every night spent in the hospital. So far, she has received more than $600 from the Riaya program and Microfund for Women was able to pay her claim in five days, help-ing her to pay her medical bills.

Bayan recalls: The first time I was admitted to the hospital, the costs were very high. My business stopped so I had to get money from other sources to cover my businesss expenses. But Riaya program was of much help. I no longer have to borrow money to cover my business expenses or the cost of my treatment.

MFW staff explain the Caregiver microinsurance

product

Women need specialized insurance products that cover all hospital visits, including those related to maternal health. Womens World Banking is introducing a family policy, and hopes to scale its Caregiver Insurance product so that women globally have a means to recover business losses due to health emergencies.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Other Job lossPropertyDeathHealth

First Priority Second Priority Third Priority

Nu

mb

er o

f Co

un

trie

s

Risk Management Needs Prioritized by the Poor in 11 Developing Countries

Source: The MicroInsurance Centre

16 17

2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

As MFIs move beyond credit to offer a broader range of financial products, marketing is becoming increasingly important. It plays a vital role in driv-ing sustainable growth by helping

institutions:

Develop a deep understanding of customer needs and motivations surrounding savings, insurance, and other financial offerings;

Meet those needs with products, services, and delivery channels that please clients because they offer a clear value; and

Develop materials and campaigns that ensure materials speak to clients and ensure materials speak to the client on her terms, both to build trust and ensure she under-stands the product.

Marketing also helps institutions build strong, dif-ferentiated brands. We know from research that brand name and peer influence are the two most important drivers of customer motivation for de-positsover and above interest rates or services. In an increasingly competitive market, differentiation as an organization committed to serving women makes business sense.

Marketing also helps MFIs to effectively deliver their product and reach scale that can ensure a products sustainability. Strong, customer-driven branding and marketing help institutions grow, by deliver-ing what the people want, how they want it, when they want it, and where they want it, and helping to spread the word to potential clients.

In 2010 WWB partnered with network member Kashf Microfinance Bank (KMB) in Pakistan to design and market the Banks first-ever savings products. WWBs first step was to conduct research to help develop a deep understanding of clients sav-ings needs and goals. The team then partnered with KMB to implement a range of marketing campaigns designed to attract and retain customers while mini-mizing costs including grand opening events for the community, financial education workshops, and monthly raffles for regular savers.

One of the most important tools is a brochure that introduces the Kamaal Committee programmed savings accountthe most popular product among low-income women.

Marketing: Knowing Your Clients

Womens World Banking embeds marketing in every product introduction to ensure that products reach women clients. For institutions targeting the womens market, customer-centric marketing strategies that reflect an understanding of the unique needs, behaviors and motivations of women are essential. WWB has seen the powerful impact and critical role that marketing has played in the successful rollout and uptake of savings with its Safe Places to Save campaign. Network member partners for the campaign are in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Pakistan and Kenya.

Kashf Kamaal Committee Savings Account

Knowing Your Clients: Literacy levels can be low among low-income women in developing countries, and it is critical that clients understand the product. WWB used pictures and illustrations to explain the purpose of the account, and designed a visual worksheet that helps clients choose the amount and frequency of deposits.

Goal Oriented: WWBs research identified the most common savings goals for KMBs clients and focused product design and communication on helping clients reach their goals: saving for their childrens schooling, plan-ning for major lifecycle events such as a wedding, or creating a financial safety net for emergencies.

Empowering Women: Women ex-pressed need for a confidential ac-count, in their name to which only they have access; this has proven to have empowerment effects for clients. The brochure lays out the key benefits of the Kamaal Committee account: security, confidentiality, independence, and earnings.

Financial Education: A key component of the marketing plan was financial education events, held weekly in branches or clients homes.

Marketing is a critical part of maintaining client focus. As Womens World Banking develops and scales products, we remain committed to learning about our clients needs and hopes through market research before designing a product and using marketing materials to inform, educate and empower them. In 2011, WWB will increase its focus on marketing to expand womens access and use of financial products and services and to further support our MFI partners in becoming the financial services provider of choice for low-income women.18 19

2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

Brokering & Advisory: Quality Capital to Deliver on the Social Mission

To deliver on their missions of serving poor women, microfinance institutions need access to quality capital from inves-tors who believe in the value of deliver-ing on the double bottom lineboth

social and financial performance.

MFIs need commercial capital to reach the nearly 3 billion people who lack access to credit, savings or other financial services. Yet institutions must be conscious of the impact this capital can have on cli-ents. Investors that are solely focused on profit often do so at the expense of serving women, who cost more to servethey are typically poorer, less mobile and grow their businesses more slowly. Investors need to commit to forgoing short-term growth for longer-term gains that help clients grow (such as business development services, and committing to keeping loans small and focusing on women).

Investors who are passionate about preserving the mission of poverty alleviation, while earning a reasonable economic return in the process, can help ensure the institution has the means to stay mission-focused. WWB works with MFIs to identify like-minded investors who are committed to helping them deliver on their mission.

2010 Capital Markets ConferenceOn March 24, 2010, Womens World Banking hosted its 8th annual Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference in New York City, Overcoming Challenges and Creating Opportunities. The event, sponsored by J.P. Morgan, brought together 350 par-ticipants representing 35 countries including more than 30 MFI leaders and 34 microfinance investors.

The conference speakers included Elizabeth Little-field, a director of the World Bank and the CEO of CGAP; Bob Annibale, Global Director of Micro-finance at Citi; Jonathan Morduch, Professor of Public Policy and Economics at NYU; and CEOs of leading MFIs around the globe. WWBs keynote speaker was Pulitzer Prize-winning author Sheryl WuDunn, who co-wrote with her husband, Nicholas Kristof, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Oppor-tunity for Women Worldwide. One of the best ways to fight poverty is to educate women and give them economic opportunity. Microfinance institutions are at the center of that solution, she said.

During 2010, Womens World Banking facilitated more than $53 million worth of financing in debt and equity for 11 network members. This will help these MFIs reach an estimated 35,000 additional poor clients.

WWB CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian participated in a lively panel discussion with Vikram Akula from SKS Microfinance and Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. The special session on microfinance, Prof-iting from the Poor? A Discussion on Microfinance IPOs, focused on the implications of commercializing microfinance institutions. The often heated debate positioned WWB both physically and philosophically between those who advocate for no capital markets involvement and those who believe that reaching

scale is not possible without the capital markets. WWB continues to be a strong advocate for a balance between raising capital for greater scale and sustain-ability, while ensuring the mission to serve the poor, especially women, remains central.

Commercial Capital and Microfinance

Womens World Banking will continue to advocate for responsible participation in the capital markets and the role of investors in ensuring that microfinance stays focused on serving the poor. As part of its goal to build capacity at MFIs, Womens World Banking is developing tools and providing training programs for institutions to contribute to their financial sustainability and responsible participation in the capital markets.

20 21

2010 Accomplishments The Path Ahead

Leadership: Securing the Future of Microfinance

The Center for Microfinance Leadership Since its establishment in 1979 WWB has been dedicated to supporting principled leaders at the helm of gender diverse microfinance providers. Today the WWB network includes some of the most celebrated leaders in the industry, representing a global commitment to women-focused, sustainable microfinance. As we work with institutions to create innovative products that meet the needs of women, we are increasingly convinced that leadership is cru-cial to the success of growing the institution while staying loyal to the mission. This means ensuring that womens voices are heard in microfinancethe voices of women clients and the perspectives of women leaders in the organizations that serve them.

Catalyst, the leading non-profit organization work-ing to expand opportunities for women in the workforce, has published numerous studies link-ing performance to gender diverse management and governance in North American and European corporations. Catalysts reports consistently show that companies with higher percentages of women board directors, on average, financially outperform companies with lower percentages by significant margins. The same relationship holds true between the percentage of women executives and financial

performance. Prioritization of gender diversity can be a proxy for other positive determinants of finan-cial performance, such as innovation, employee satisfaction, customer loyalty and an inclusive and supportive work environment.

Critical changes in the microfinance industryin-creased commercialization, decreased presence of women staff at all levels, and rapid growthrequire

Womens World Banking trained 88 CEOs and senior managers through the Center for Mi-crofinance Leadership and conducted two gender assessments in India and Peru to improve the recruitment, retention and promotion of women staff within institutions.

that leaders have both new skills and ongo-ing coaching support to effectively manage the immediate and long-term challenges. WWBs Center for Microfinance Leadership supports the development of a diverse set of principled, vision-ary leaders and high performing, meritocratic organizations. The Center offers executive educa-tion programs for senior managers of microfinance institutions, including, among others, The Ad-vanced Leadership Pro-gram in partnership with The Wharton School of Business and a coaching program with Creative Metier Limited.

The Center also provides organizational support for diversity through its Organizational Gender Assessment. The OGA helps MFIs diagnose ob-stacles faced by women staff members, and design solutions to eliminate impediments and leverage opportunities. Borrowing a concept from corporate marketing strategy, microfinance institutions target-

ing women customers will be more successful at understanding and responding to customers needs when they mirror the market. Becoming both a provider and employer of choice for women can be a positive differentiator in the market.

WWB hopes to inspire transformation in the micro-finance industry, shifting the perception of gender diversity from an elective initiative to a fundamental requirement for sustainable institutions.

In 2011, the Center for Microfinance Leadership will train roughly 150 CEOs and senior managers through seven workshops and conduct a gender assessment in Colombia to en-sure that the rapidly changing field of microfinance keeps women at its center, not just as clients, but as industry leaders.

Being a woman that has led from the front and built my organization as well as contributed to other institutions, I strongly believe in peer learn-ing and the importance of role models who can encourage you to grow and succeed. Mentoring for women who come from traditional societies that dont necessarily support women in business is very important. I see the Center helping to mentor and build leaders through a strong network of informa-tion sharing. The Center must also be a laboratory to learn about general management strategies, regardless of gender.

-Roshaneh Zafar, President and Founder of Kashf Foundation

22 23

Margarita Gonzalez: The Expression of Womens Leadership

After participating in WWBs Women in Leadership Workshop in New York City in 2008, Margarita Gonzalez, Marketing Director for Banco WWB, returned home moti-vated to teach other women about leadership and to introduce Banco WWB to a larger audience. Banco WWBs Executive Director Dr. Clara Akerman has inspired her staff to take advantage of opportunities for personal growth. Margaritas creativity and dedication, and the support of Banco WWB and Dr. Akerman, brought Banco WWBs television programMujerEsto life in December 2009.

The program is created for women entrepreneurs and highlights the personal success stories of other determined entrepreneurs. The program includes conversa-tions with Banco WWB clients and provides viewers with valuable information about finance, health and beauty, and the value of a positive attitude. The program also educates viewers on topics includ-ing womens rights legislation, how to handle sexism and how to inspire entrepreneurship in the next generation of women.

Banco WWB has received an exceptional public response and plans to continue using platforms such as MujerEs to contribute to the lives and success of women microentrepreneurs to stimu-

late credit demand, and to position Banco WWB as an institution that supports women and contributes to their growth and development.

Margarita Gonzalez

Center for Microfinance Leadership Alumna

One of the greatest benefits of being a network is the ability to share best practices.

WWB fosters learning through-out the network and industry by building solidarity among its 39 network members who are all committed to serving women, promoting peer learning, and disseminating knowledge.

Workshops provide network members with valuable expo-sure to other leaders global perspectives and experience guiding institutions through product diversification, financial risk management, and institutionalizing gender-sensitive practices.

Trainings improve institutional capacity and help microfinance institutions improve the technical expertise of their staff through exposure to best practices.

On site peer-to-peer exchanges provide a powerful hands-on approach that allows senior managers to learn from one another through direct visits be-tween institutions. WWB brokers these exchanges between network members seeking practical knowl-edge on specific topics and other network members or industry leaders who are recognized as influential voices on the subject.

Through its publications, Womens World Banking makes its experiential knowledge available, helping to ensure that its network members microfinance institutions have the tools and knowledge to learn from their peers.

In 2010, Womens World Banking hosted five workshops, two peer-to-peer exchanges, conducted five trainings, and published five new publications on subjects ranging from microfinance investment in emerging markets, capital markets training, to product innovation.

Peer Learning: Sharing Best Practices

24 25

Appeal starts hereEvery woman deserves an opportunity to achieve economic independence. When you empower a woman to make choices she will not only better her own life, but also the life of her family and community.

In order to continue to serve poor women around the globe, WWB needs your support. Together we can work to provide financial services, education, and ac-cess to those who have been excluded from the formal financial sector.

Generous individuals like you have sustained our vision for over 30 years. We ask you to kindly open your hearts to those who need a chance. There are many ways to give:

Donations can be made using the enclosed card or via our website at www.swwb.org.

Join the LEADers, a group dedicated to sup-porting and advocating for WWB. LEADers are invited to visit a WWB network member and learn first-hand the ways in which micro-finance affects clients lives and are given unique opportunities to become more deep-ly connected to microfinance globally.

A gift of sEcuritiEs allows you to receive a charitable tax deduction for full-market value while supporting WWB.

chAritAblE bEquEsts are a wonderful way to have an impact for generations to come by remembering WWB in your estate plans.

utilizE your corporAtE gift mAtching program to double or triple the impact of your contribution. Many employers offer gift

matching programs, check with your human resources department.

Create a fundraising page on wwbs web-site to commemorate a special occasion or life event, such as a wedding or milestone birthday. WWB will work with you to create a special page tailored to reflect your story. Please complete the fundraising page appli-cation located on our website at www.swwb.org /content/create- fundraising-page-application.

Give an honor or memorial gift that will pay tribute to someone special with a gift that will have an impact by helping WWB achieve its vision of providing women entrepreneurs access to financial services.

Please visit www.swwb.org to learn more about these options or contact Erin Cohen at (212) 556-3129 or development@swwb.org.

Know

ledg

e S

haring

Services to 37 Network Members

26 MILLION CLIENTS82 PERCENT WOMEN

Center for Microfinance Leadership

Financial Education

88 LeadersTrained

Diversity Assessments

at 2 Institutions

Brokering & Advisory$53 Million

in Financing

WWB

39 MFIS27 COUNTRIES

Youth Savings

Savings Insurance

Credit

New Products to 719,000

Clients

Voice for Wom

en

Industry

Industry

Indu

stry

The Power of a Network: 2010 Outreach

29

More than 400 WWB network lead-ers, supporters, partners, friends, and honored guests attended the Annual Global Dinner on Thurs-day, March 25 at Gotham Hall in

New York City. The evening kicked off with a per-formance by La Troupe Zetwal, a traditional Haitian dance group, before WWB President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian welcomed the attendees and an-nounced this years honorees. Citi was recognized for its commitment to the microfinance sector; Alba Luz Bustos, client of Banco WWB (Colombia), told the moving story of building her successful jewelry-making business from a simple loan of $1,500 and seeds that people in her small town usually throw

away; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Sheryl WuDunn shared vivid anecdotes from Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, the best-selling book she co-wrote with her husband, journalist Nicholas Kristof. Eliza Osborne of Sothebys led a lively auction at the end of the evening, raising nearly $80,000 to support clients and women leaders of microfinance institu-tions in the WWB network. The evening was made possible by the support of 22 corporate sponsors and the members of the WWB Board and LEADers, many of whom served on the Dinner Committee. WWB gratefully acknowledges and thanks each and every one of them.

individuals

Clara Akerman Anonymous (2) Dana Auslander Nick Anderson Andrew Beck Kristin Cardwell Casey Coffman Alex Ehrlich Stewart Honeyman Sheila Hooda Hunter Horgan and Brooke Doherty Horgan Suzanne Nora Johnson and David G. John-

son Lois Juliber Laura Levenstein Erika Long Maureen Lynch Fiona MacLeod and Neil Locke Elizabeth Munson Laurel Fitzpatrick Odom Reshma Patel Nicole Perry Alexandra Pomeroy Beth Roberts and Natan Vaisman May Seeman Michael and Elizabeth Useem Melissa Vaske Jean Witmer

foundations and corporations

Accenture Foundation Barclays Capital Bascom Hill Partners The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Funding Partners and Supporters

Boston Consulting Group BP Citi Foundation The Crown Family Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation FACT French American Charitable Trust Frances Alexander Foundation Fundacin WWB Colombia The Goldman Sachs Foundation Google HSBC J.P. Morgan Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP The Lillian Feder Foundation The MasterCard Foundation McGraw-Hill Companies Morgan Stanley The New Field Foundation Nike Foundation Overbrook Foundation The P&G Company The Pounds Family Foundation Ropes & Gray LLP Pfizer Rockefeller & Co. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP The Stuart Family Foundation Tarsadia Foundation TIAA-CREF Tomberg Philanthropies Triodos Bank VISA Western Union Foundation White & Case LLP

government, multilateral and other international organizations

Agencia Espaola de Cooperacin Interna-cional para el Desarrollo

Corporacin Andina de Fomento (CAF) Cordaid Dutch Ministry of Development Coopera-

tion The Government of Luxembourg Hivos ICCO International Finance Corporation International Labour Organization Irish Aid

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

UN Capital Development Fund

in-Kind Donors

In 2010, WWB received pro bono support valued at more than $600,000 from four law firms and one consultant: White & Case LLP, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, Goodwin Procter LLP, Nigel Swinn and Sidley Austin, LLP.

Gifts of $5,000 or more

In 2010 WWB welcomed The Government of Luxembourg as a core funder. Historically WWB has relied on core funders, some for decades, to make our operations possible. We are grateful for this support and their commitment to serving women.

30 31

ASSETS 2010 2009

Cash and cash equivalents 3,665,784 8,470,551

Grants and contributions receivable, net 5,300,051 5,577,237

Investments 12,918,655 17,915,715

Loan receivables 4,151,717

Other assets 106,519 200,089

Interest in net assets of supporting organization 421,000 1,192,333

Furniture, equipment, and leasehold improvements, net of

accumulated depreciation and amortization of $327,674

and $297,463 in 2010 and 2009, respectively 19,471 36,256

Total Assets 26,583,197 33,392,181

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Liabilities:

Accounts payable and accrued expenses 564,110 967,254

Other liabilities 595,675 530,500

Total Liabilities 1,159,785 1,497,754

Net assets:

Unrestricted 226,088 1,890,492

Temporarily restricted 8,602,068 13,408,679

Permanently restricted capital fund 16,595,256 16,595,256

Total net assets 25,423,412 31,894,427

Total liabilities and net assets 26,583,197 33,392,181

Temporarily Permanently Total

Unrestricted Restricted Restricted 2010 2009

OPERATING ACTIVITIES

REVENUE AND SUPPORT

Grants and contributions 43,218 4,792,334 4,835,552 15,051,608

In-kind contributions 596,699 596,699 619,585

Interest and dividends, net of investment

expenses of $159 and $23,228

in 2010 and 2009 73,005 73,005 148,126

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses)

in fair value of investments 21,931 221,335 243,266 (170,057)

Change in interest in supporting

organization (771,333) (771,333) (893,830)

Foreign currency translation (loss) gain (45,910) (97,408) (143,318) 35,950

Fee for services 1,003,591 1,003,591 759,107

Other income 144,862 144,862 136,236

Net assets released from restrictions 9,024,544 (9,024,544)

Total revenue and support 10,788,935 (4,806,611) 5,982,324 15,686,725

EXPENSES AND LOSS

Program services

Institutional development programs 4,020,806 4,020,806 3,757,080

Functional products and services 3,556,930 3,556,930 2,809,212

Total program services 7,577,736 7,577,736 6,566,292

General and administrative 1,272,841 1,272,841 1,013,698

Fund-raising 972,086 972,086 431,878

Total expenses 9,822,663 9,822,663 8,011,868

LOSS

Loss on uncollectible grants receivable 234,026 234,026

Total expenses and loss 10,056,689 10,056,689 8,011,868

Increase (decrease) in net assets

from operating activities 732,246 (4,806,611) (4,074,365) 7,674,857

NONOPERATING ACTIVITIES:

Contributions to network members (2,396,650) (2,396,650) (120,000)

Total nonoperating activities (2,396,650) (2,396,650) (120,000)

(Decrease) increase in net assets (1,664,404) (4,806,611) (6,471,015) 7,554,857

Net assets at beginning of year 1,890,492 13,408,679 16,595,256 31,894,427 24,339,570

Net assets at end of year 226,088 8,602,068 16,595,256 25,423,412 31,894,427

Financial Statements

Balance Sheet Statement of Activities

32 33

Governance

SWWB BoardWomens World Banking is governed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom are recognized leaders in banking, finance, business, law, community orga-nizing, or womens economic participation. The governance of the WWB network is enhanced by this powerful combination of leaders in various dis-ciplines and microfinance practitioners who ensure that WWBs work is relevant and grounded. Because of this, the SWWB Board is completely unique in the sectorno other network has a board so con-nected to the work on the ground. WWBs board has fiduciary responsibility for the organization and is charged with approving WWBs policies, strategies and annual budgets. The board meets quarterly.

officers

Inger Prebensen, Chair

Jennifer Riria, Vice Chair

Mary Houghton, Treasurer

Clara Akerman, Secretary

members

Dr. Marilou van Golstein Brouwers

Sheila Hooda

Humaira Islam, Ph.D.

Suzanne Nora Johnson

Diana Medman

Roshaneh Zafar

honorary members for life

Ela Bhatt

Michaela Walsh

Friends of WWB/USA, Inc.Friends of WWB/USA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization which raises donations from U.S. foun-dations, corporations and individuals in support of WWBs global mission. Friends of WWB maintains a separate Board of Directors made up of U.S.-based leaders in law, business, finance and academia who provide critical strategic guidance on WWBs global initiatives and U.S. presence. In addition, the Friends Board has oversight of WWBs new ven-ture, the WWB Holding Company. The board meets quarterly.

officers

Beth K. Roberts , Chair

Casey Coffman, Treasurer

Elizabeth P. Munson, Secretary

members

Lois D. Juliber

Fiona A. MacLeod

Kay M. Madati

Nicole Gresham Perry

Dede Pickering

Michael Useem, Ph.D.

34 35

Photo CreditsFront cover: Anjali Banthia/WWB; inside front cover: courtesy of Mibanco; page 1: Anjali Banthia/WWB; page 2: courtesy of Clinton Global Initiative; page 3 (top to bottom): Michael Radassao, Sarah Buitoni/WWB, David Wentworth; page 5: Melinda Binks; page 7: clockwise from top right: courtesy of Cecilia Ramon of Banco ADOPEM, Dede Pickering, Julie Slama/WWB, Stephanie Waxman/WWB, Julie Slama/WWB; page 11: courtesy of Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc.; page 13: Anjali Banthia/WWB; page 14: WWB; page 17: courtesy of Microfund for Women; page 21: courtesy of Clinton Global Initiative; page 23: Sarah Buitoni/WWB; page 25: WWB; page 27: Anjali Banthia/WWB; page 28 and 29: Michael Radassao; page 31: WWB; pages 32 and 34: Diane Bondareff; page 35: Anjali Banthia/WWB; inside back cover: Anjali Banthia/WWB; back cover: Stephanie Waxman/WWB.

Womens World Banking is grateful to our network members and their clients for agreeing to be photographed and allowing us to share these photos.

8 West 40th StreetNew York, NY 10018

www.womensworldbanking.org

Find Us On...Twitter: @MicrofinanceWWB

Facebook: Womens World Banking: Investing in Women, Transforming Lives

YouTube: youtube.com/user/swwbadmin

On The CoverClient of GAWFA

Grinding fish in the market in Sukuta, The Gambia.