Microcredit Lending in the San Diego-Tijuana Border Region

Microcredit lending has become a major innovation in anti-poverty and economic development programs around the world. The core philosophy of microcredit lending programs is that poor people are best able to help themselves when they are granted access to the same kinds of market mechanisms that sustain much of the “real” economy, particularly access to credit. Small loans, sometimes as little as a few dollars, are given to individuals that may lack access to traditional banking institutions. These funds become the foundation for modest investments and improvements in quality of life that many economists believe may help to reduce poverty and foster long term economic development.