micro-credit

British

/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌkrɛdɪt /

noun

the practice of lending small amounts of money on minimal security, esp to help small businesses and communities in the developing world

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Yunus, a Bangladeshi banker who was awarded his Nobel in 2006 for pioneering micro-credit loans to impoverished people, has worked with the International Olympic Committee on a business program for athletes.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2021

“What we are looking at more and more is a shift from basic services and basic assistance to self-reliance,” Woode said as he detailed plans for micro-credit schemes and vocational training.

From Washington Post • Dec. 27, 2017

The United States has backed "micro-credit programs" for years to fund small loans to help entrepreneurs in developing nations create businesses.

From Reuters • Sep. 25, 2012

In addition, there is no credit or micro-credit system.

From Time • Dec. 28, 2011

This is an approach we have taken at Nestle where, for example, we provide more than $30m worth of micro-credit loans yearly to more than 600,000 farmers worldwide.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2010

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023