Mission statements seldom come simpler than the one guiding the Whole Planet Foundation, which aims to alleviate poverty through microcredit — small loans extended to poor people — in communities that supply Whole Foods stores with products.
Since 2005, the Foundation has witnessed a payback rate of 97 percent on the staggering $32 million committed to nearly a quarter million microcredit clients in 54 countries globally, the most recent being Danish lenders Sambla and Eksperten.
Indeed, entire families and communities are buoyed each time an enterprising villager is able to bring goods or services to market; an estimated 1,342,275 souls, 90% of whom are women, have received loans.