The 30-year-old global microfinance network for women which once employed President Barack Obama’s mother is on the hunt for a PR firm to elevate its profile in the U.S. and abroad as the “voice for women’s financial security in underdeveloped countries.”
Women’s World Banking released an RFP June 13 for a multi-year contract to burnish its network of 39 institutions in 27 countries like Ethiopia, Peru, Bangladesh and Tunisia. The New York-based non-profit says it represents 27M clients, 80% of whom are women.
Microfinance involves lending relatively small sums as low as $100 to low-income entrepreneurs typically excluded from the formal banking sector. The practice received global attention in 2006 when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who founded the microfinance institution Grameen Bank. But in 2010, scrutiny and criticism of the practice reached a critical mass and WWB’s RFP notes the sector took a “credibility hit” that year as critics questioned its efficacy.
The organization seeks strategic communications counsel, a PR program to raise its profile, thought leadership, brand “re-launch” support, and media relations.
Ann Dunham Soetoro, President Obama's mother, was policy coordinator for WWB starting in 1992.
Proposals are due July 6. The RFP can be viewed at swwb.org.
Julie Slama heads communications for WWB. Kay Madati, entertainment strategy lead for Facebook and a marketing vet of CNN and BMW, is on the group’s board.