Children of Adelante clients in El Esfuerzo, Atlántida

Adelante Helps Women
Ninety-nine percent of Adelante clients are women. We actively target women for four reasons.

1. Women are more likely than men to repay their loans. It is a sound business decision to loan to women.
2. Women suffer more from poverty. Too often in a household where there is insufficient food, the man will eat what he wants, the children will eat what they can, and the mother will make do with what is left over.
3. Women spend their profits on their children. As a result of increased family income, children attend school for the first time, kids eat more protein, and sick children can get medicine when necessary.
4. Adelante clients become educated and empowered, often proving by example to their children that a woman can work, learn, and lead.

Adelante Helps the Extreme Poor
Adelante targets extremely poor women in a very poor country. In effect, our initial loan amount, which can be as low as $50, only attracts very poor women who do not already have that much money. For many women, the first loan is more money than she has ever held at one time. Adelante is proud of the fact that it doesn't require clients to own a home or have an operational business when they apply for their first loan. The only requirement is that a woman be accepted by her peers to form a Solidarity Group to take the loan.