Microfinance: Our Story
The MicroDreams Foundation is a non profit and sister organization to the South Pacific Business Development (“SPBD”) microfinance network, the most successful group of MFIs operating in the South Pacific countries of Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Founder Greg Casagrande and Board Members established MicroDreams in the United States and New Zealand as charitable entities to raise awareness and funds for microfinance.
MicroDreams’ first investment was in SPBD Samoa. When SPBD Samoa repaid its start-up financing, MicroDreams reinvested this money into other MFIs. We have been there every step of the way to support the launch and growth of SPBD in Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu and have supported MFIs in Latin America as well.
Your financial contribution can help a microentrepreneur in Samoa start a business, another hardworking woman in Fiji buy cattle, or help a child in Tonga attend school. And, your donation is the ultimate pay it forward, and forward, and forward. When community members repay microloans, the funds go straight back out to other deserving entrepreneurs, constantly being reinvested into communities.
At MicroDreams, we believe that extending financial services to low-income people – known as “microfinance” – is an effective and flexible strategy in the fight against poverty. We believe that everyone deserves access to financial services, which will help them work their way to a better future.
Today, microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide critical financial services to some of the poorest populations in the world that are viewed as “too risky” by traditional financial institutions. We have seen the results, and we are proud to support our partner MFIs and the hard-working microentrepreneurs they serve.
We strive to empower the poor to lift themselves out of poverty through meaningful economic opportunity.
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with meaningful economic opportunity through microloans and financial education, so they can work their way out of poverty.
Our Approach
Through your donations, MicroDreams provides financing and advisory services to young and promising microfinance institutions (MFIs) so they can prosper and become permanent entities. In turn, our MFI partners offer critical products such as loans, savings, and insurance to entrepreneurs in impoverished communities. To ensure the entrepreneur’s success, these MFIs also provide financial education, business skills training, and ongoing guidance and motivation.
Entrepreneurs use their initial loans to start or expand their businesses. Once the initial loan is repaid, the entrepreneur becomes eligible for additional services, such as financing for housing improvements and childhood education.
