Microfinance
Catholic Relief Services microfinance programs work through small, village-based credit and savings institutions to create economic opportunities for people living in some of the world’s most impoverished areas. In 38 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, CRS has brought sustainable financial services to more than a million people.
Outreach and Program Models
In the 20 years that CRS has been supporting microfinance projects, we have developed a dynamic, multifaceted approach to facilitating the growth of small enterprises in the developing world. Our microfinance program has evolved as the needs of the people we serve have changed.
CRS supports two main types of microfinance programs: the traditional, credit-led village banking model, managed through microfinance institutions, and the recently developed community-led savings model, which relies on self-help groups. Both methodologies encourage clients to invest the money they borrow in income-generating enterprises and to save a portion of the money they earn. Both reach very poor households and communities, and help to create a financial base for local community development.
SILC Meeting Steps (video)
Jerome Dadjo (SILC Program Manager, CRS Benin) and the CRS/Benin team created the following video to demonstrate the steps involved in a Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) meeting. SILC is a savings group methodology that provides sustainable and appropriate microfinance services to rural communities.
Lecture on SILC and OVC Self-Reliance (video)
Guy Vanmeenen, Senior Technical Advisor for Microfinance (CRS Kenya), gives a lecture on using Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) as a tool to help build self-reliance in Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC).


