The Game Monopoly and Microfinance

The below is a short essay by Mike Lafleur is one of two winning essays from Développement international Desjardins (DID)'s DoingMyPart.Coop Youth Contest.

"Imagine playing a game of Monopoly but starting off with less than a dollar. Without access to any credit, each roll of the dice lands you into more debt and the cycle of poverty rolls on. Think of microfinance as the “Advance to Go” card that allows you to collect a small yet sufficient amount of money to invest in. For 2/3 of the world’s population living on less than a dollar a day, the “Advance to Go” card is their only viable option for breaking the cycle of poverty.

Microfinance creates partnerships that allow the poor to gain access to financial services, to move towards self-reliance, to build the capacity of local businesses and local knowledge, to foster entrepreneurship and to increase income, assets, security and hope. Inevitably, microfinance can serve as a cornerstone for better health, gender equality, improved education, empowerment and a poverty free world.

Whereas the economic term monopoly is defined as the domination of a market by a single provider, microfinance allows millions of providers to provide for themselves. Indeed there is a new game to be played!"