Gates Foundation helps bring banking to the poor

(September 21, 2009) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is best known for its work combating malaria, AIDS and other diseases. But the world's richest charitable foundation has been quietly expanding into other problems of the developing world and this week announced an effort to bring banking, including savings accounts, to the poor. It may be hard to understand how savings is even an issue for the people who live on less than $2 a day, said Bob Christen, who directs the Gates Foundation's financial services initiative. However, access to a safe place to store money is a top priority of poor people around the world, he said. This week, the foundation announced a $35 million grant to help facilitate agent banking services already being developed in Africa, Asia and South and Central America. The Gates grant is aimed at helping the poor climb out of poverty, save for their children's education, build their businesses and plan for the future. The Gates Foundation has invested a total of $350 million so far in other financial services for the poor, including micro-credit, which involves small loans for poor entrepreneurs. An estimated 2.5 billion people - more than half the world's adult population - do not have access to savings accounts and other financial services. People are forced to buy and pawn jewellery or make other poor investments to keep their money safe.