About us

Lendwithcare.org is an initiative from CARE International UK in association with The Co-operative.

Care International UK

Care International UK is part of the CARE International confederation, which is one of the world’s leading aid and development organisations.

Last year we helped more than 82 million people in 87 countries around the world.

Our history

For over 60 years, CARE has been helping desperately poor and vulnerable people. We started work after the Second World War – distributing food aid and essential supplies to families in war-torn Europe.

As Europe began to rebuild itself, we turned our attention to other places where help was in dire need – first Asia, and then the rest of the developing world.

Initially, we focused on responding to emergencies, and providing food and medicine to those threatened by hunger and disease.

Over the years, our work has evolved. We still provide emergency relief during and after disasters, but we also help people tackle the root causes of their hardship.

This vast, practical experience means we are uniquely placed to fight suffering and injustice. From our years of working with communities all over the world, we understand the solutions to poverty – and we know how to deliver them.

CARE International today

Today, we work in more than 87 countries across five continents. Although our efforts have expanded, our mission remains the same – helping poor families to change their lives for the better.

At the heart of our global reach is a local focus. Ninety pence in every £1 we receive goes directly towards our poverty-fighting work. And over 90% of our staff are locally hired, which gives us invaluable access to poor communities and a profound understanding of their difficulties.

To find out more about how we are helping to transform lives right now, click here.

Lendwithcare is currently active in Togo, Benin, The Philippines Cambodia and Boznia Herzegovina.

Our expertise in microfinance

We are dedicated to helping people transform their own lives. And we think microfinance is the ideal way to do it.

Our innovative solutions enable poor communities – especially vulnerable, marginalised women – to find sustainable ways to earn a decent living.

Working with global organisations, local microfinance institutions (MFIs) and poor people directly, we provide much-needed access to basic financial services and entrepreneurial training. This helps entrepreneurs start and develop their own businesses - and build a better future for themselves and their families.

Our track record in microfinance is unprecedented. CARE International pioneered a methodology called Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), which offer savings and credit services to communities without banks or MFIs. Pioneered in Niger, this life-changing scheme has spread to 20 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, and reached over one million people.

And we are currently implementing a new programme called Access Africa, supported by corporate partners such as IBM and Barclays, to help women in sub-Saharan Africa access financial services and learn business skills.

But we believe that the real potential of microfinance is still to be realised. Most of the world’s poorest people still have no access to basic financial services – and little hope of lifting themselves out of poverty.

That’s why we set up lendwithcare. And that’s why we need your support.

To find out more about our microfinance programmes all over the world, click here.

The Co-operative

The Co-operative Group (The Co-operative) stands apart from other major businesses in the UK as an organisation which is owned, not by investor shareholders, but by over six million consumer members. It is the UK’s fifth biggest food retailer, the leading convenience store operator and a major financial services provider. Among its other businesses are the number one funeral services provider and Britain’s largest farming operation.

As well as having clear financial and operational objectives, the Group has also set out its social and sustainability goals in its groundbreaking Ethical Plan, which specifies some 50 commitments in these areas.

Tackling Global Poverty

The Co-operative believes that when undertaken equitably, trade and finance have an unparalleled capacity to enhance quality of life, and are proud to have led the way for over 165 years. Today, The Co-operative is doing more than ever across its family of businesses to help tackle global poverty, through ethical trade, co-operative support, ethical finance and campaigning, and over a million people benefit from its work each year. In the same way The Co-operative pioneered Fairtrade, which is about supporting producers to trade their way out of poverty, lendwithcare.org will allow it to lead the way in helping turn entrepreneurs’ plans into life-changing opportunities.