The Women’s Farm and Forestry Alliance (WFFA) is a budding United States organization that recognizes the need to increase business training among women who run farming operations. With the goal of helping women become proficient in managing their businesses, managing and utilizing credit, and understanding business and financial risks, WFFA is in the process of creating a series of web-based modules that will help women access funds and utilize them as efficiently and effectively as possible. While based in the United States, the internet-based program will be available all over the world. According to member Karen Grillo, WFFA hopes to have between three and ten modules available by the end of 2013.
The microcredit movement is built on the concept that impoverished people deserve lines of credit, and can be trusted to repay their loans. Over the last 40 years, the microcredit movement has been rapidly growing: the Microcredit Summit Campaign has over 2,000 members today. However, there is a growing debate within the microcredit culture as to whether loans would be more effective if they were coupled with business training. A study conducted jointly between Innovations for Poverty Action and Yale University found that providing business training increased sales, increased repayment rates and higher levels of child education among women borrowers who received training, as opposed to women who received only a loan.
