Hivos is a non-governmental organisation, rooted in The Netherlands and guided by humanist values, that wants to contribute to a free, fair and sustainable world where citizens, women and men, have equal access to resources, opportunities and markets and can participate actively and equally in decision-making processes that determine their lives, their society and their future.
Hivos microfinance programme
The microfinance programme is an integral part of the Hivos Access to Opportunities programme, which focuses among other themes on sustainable entrepreneurship. The strategy of sustainable production, microfinance and enterprise development requires a local enterprise sector that is effective and efficient, and equally sustainable and fair. Hivos seeks to connect and explores possibilities to further engage with citizens, consumers and companies in the North, to make sustainable production and microfinance an effective instrument for poverty reduction.
The programme emphasises initiatives that allow low-income people get access to capital, energy resources, advisory services and markets in which added-value can be generated specifically by small-scale producers. In order to support not only ‘survival driven’ activities, but also expansion driven enterprises that specifically are engines of job creation, Hivos works together with Dutch entrepreneurs in the support and investment programme for small and medium-sized enterprises. Key in all is scalability and growth (for enterprises via microfinance and enterprise development) and replicable applications of successful activities (microfinance with ICT).