Lendwithcare

Lendwithcare is a microfinance lending website from CARE International UK. Launched in September 2010, it allows individuals and groups to make small loans to entrepreneurs in low-income countries, helping them improve their lives through business.

, Lendwithcare supports entrepreneurs in Cambodia, Ecuador, Georgia, Malawi, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Thailand, Togo, Vietnam and Zambia.

To provide this support, Lendwithcare works with a range of local development partners, many of which are specialist microfinance institutions (MFIs). While Lendwithcare does not charge interest to make this funding available, some local partners working with Lendwithcare do charge interest to borrowers to cover their operational costs.

, over 80,000 individual lenders had provided over £48m in loan funding to nearly 200,000 small business owners.

History
Lendwithcare was launched in September 2010.

In 2012, it launches a group lending feature, allowing individual lenders to lend as groups (such as churches or clubs) and track their impact together.

In 2021, Lendwithcare launches a grant funding feature, allowing users to make one-off grants in addition to loans. Unlike loans, these grants do not generate loan repayments. However, they do generate a positive impact on people's lives and reduce CO2 emissions.

The process
Lendwithcare works with a number of partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the countries in which it operates. If the MFI is happy with an entrepreneur's idea or business plan, they approve the proposal and provide the initial loan requested. They also help the entrepreneur construct their profile for lendwithcare.org.

Lenders can browse the list of entrepreneurs on the website, read about their businesses, see the value of the loan they have requested, the percentage of the loan already provided by other lenders, and then choose an entrepreneur to lend to. Once the entrepreneur's loan is fully funded, the money is transferred to the MFI to replace the initial loan already paid out to the entrepreneur. During this process lenders receive progress updates regarding the entrepreneur's progress. The entrepreneur gradually pays back their loan according to a repayment schedule. The MFI transfers these repayments to CARE International who then credits the payment into lenders' lendwithcare.org accounts. Lenders can then either withdraw their money using a PayPal account or can use the credit to provide a loan to another entrepreneur.

Partner MFIs

 * Benin – Association des Caisses de Financement à la Base (ACFB), established in 2004. Based in the capital Cotonou with branches across the country.
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina – Zene za Zene, established in 1997 by Women for Women International. Based in Sarajevo with branches around the country.
 * Cambodia – Cambodian Community Savings Federation (CCSF), established in 2003. Based in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces.
 * Ecuador – Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador (FACES), established in 1991 and based in Loja.
 * Philippines – SEEDFINANCE, established in 2007. Based in Mandaluyong in Metro Manila with field operations in Luzon, Cebu, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Panay, Negros, Samar, and Mindanao.
 * Togo – Women and Associations for Gain both Economic and Social (WAGES), established in 1994. Based in Lomé with 10 branches across the country.
 * Vietnam – Microfinance and Community Development Institute (MACDI), established in 2007. Based in Hanoi with most activities in northern and central Vietnam.

Ambassadors

 * Stacey Dooley travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2012.
 * Deborah Meaden travelled to Cambodia in 2011.
 * Alastair Stewart travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011 to visit CARE's partner Zene za Zene. He met many entrepreneurs, including women widowed by Srebrenica massacre.