Human Resilience, Microfinance, and the Evolution of Potatoes

JP KloningerField Team Blogs, Latin America and the Caribbean, Microcredit, Microfinance Partners

J.P. Kloninger is the Programs Manager for Whole Foods Market Team Member Giving and Whole Planet Foundation’s North America microfinance portfolio. He previously served as Program Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, and as Administrator of Finance and Business Analysis.  A native Californian who grew up in Costa Rica, J.P. …

Field Officer Award for Asia and the Pacific: Highlights from Vietnam

Claire KellyField Officer Awards, Field Team Blogs, Microcredit, Microfinance Partners

At the end of 2019, WPF invited all partners in the Asia/Pacific region to participate in the field officer appreciation award. After a WPF community vote, there are five grand prize winners and twelve honorable mentions. You’ll notice that all three of WPF’s partners in Vietnam received the top recognition!  This …

Reaching Entrepreneurs in Ukraine with Anisia

Brian DoeEastern Europe, Field Team Blogs, Travel

In Ukraine, Whole Planet Foundation is helping local Credit Union Anisia to better serve very small rural enterprises with financing that adapts the successful group loan methodology used internationally, but rarely in Central and Eastern Europe. Anisia launched this new outreach strategy to Ukrainian entrepreneurs by partnering with an innovative …

Financial Inclusion for What? Celebrating Financial Inclusion Week with a profile of CASHPOR

Claire KellyAsia and the Pacific, Field Team Blogs, Microcredit, Microfinance Partners

During this year’s Financial Inclusion Week, Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion asks, “Financial Inclusion for What?” In other words, what are the main goals that financial inclusion is striving to achieve? Whole Planet Foundation (WPF) has been a unique capital provider in the financial inclusion space for almost 15 years. …

Support for Savings: How Microfinance Partners add Value to their Clients

Whole Planet FoundationAsia and the Pacific, Field Team Blogs, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa

Whole Planet Foundation’s funds are provided to our partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) to be distributed to borrowers as microloans or in-kind productive assets (like cows, sewing machines, or solar lamps). For most of our partners, the loan is given in a “credit-plus” context. This means that the MFI would provide …

New Mobile Phone Services Empower Rural Businesses in Cote D’Ivoire

Brian DoeField Team Blogs, Sub-Saharan Africa, Travel

Last month I went Cote D’Ivoire to visit WPF long-time microfinance partner PAMF, who administers group microloans to rural entrepreneurs and farmers. This visit allowed me to observe the initial roll-out of a new mobile phone-based platform that WPF provided grant funding to help build. The platform will allow anyone …

Front Line Financial Inclusion: Field Officer Appreciation Award – Asia/Pacific

Claire KellyAsia and the Pacific, Field Officer Awards, Field Team Blogs, Microfinance Partners

“Microfinance has always been a high-touch business, with personal contact playing an indispensable role in the delivery of financial services for low-income clients. Human relationships and values like trust and empathy are crucial in determining whether a microfinance institution (MFI) will be able to grow and remain sustainable. And it …