September 27, 2008
Calvert Foundation Receives $10 Million Investment from Merrill Lynch
by Robert Kropp
Investment in foundation's Community Investment Note is intended to support women entrepreneurs in
developing countries.
SocialFunds.com --
Women entrepreneurs in developing countries stand to benefit from a $10 million investment in Calvert Foundation's Community
Investment Note by the Merrill Lynch Community Development
Company.
The Clinton Global Initiative, a coalition of global
leaders dedicated to innovative solutions to the world's most pressing problems, has designated the
initiative for inclusion in its annual meeting.
The investment in the Community Investment
Note provides microloans to more than 13,000 women entrepreneurs in eleven countries.
It
is hoped that the combination of microfinance, business training and healthcare support will help
women entrepreneurs create livelihoods for themselves as well as financial stability for their
families.
The United Nations Development
Programme,the UN's global development network which advocates the goal of cutting world poverty
in half by 2015, reports that only one percent of rural Africans have obtained loans or credit from
financial institutions.
The UNDP has bolstered its commitment to sustainable gender
equality by noting that women have shown a 98 percent repayment rateon microloans.
Merrill
Lynch and Calvert Foundation have offered the Community Investment Notes to Merrill Lynch clients
interested in supporting new economic opportunities in underserved communities worldwide. The
initiative has led to over $1.5 million invested in underserved communities.
Community
investment continues to grow in appeal as an investment strategy. The Social Investment Forum reports that community investment
in the U.S. reached $25 billion in 2007, up from $19.6 billion in 2005.
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