Glasgow Caledonian University’s Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health is partners with PurpleShoots, a not-for-profit community development financial institution, to explore how fair microcredit can transform lives. Purple Shoots provides small loans and peer-led support to financially excluded individuals seeking to start or grow businesses.
Financial vulnerability, economic inactivity, and poor health disproportionately affect those excluded from mainstream finance. Traditional lending often overlooks these groups, limiting access to safety nets and opportunities for independence.
This initiative will expand access to microloans for around 500 individuals and rigorously evaluate their impact on financial resilience, health, and wellbeing. Using longitudinal data and innovative research methods, the project will generate evidence to refine programmes and influence policy – positioning microcredit as a public health intervention that can empower vulnerable communities to achieve economic independence and improved quality of life.