A growing number of NGOs are progressing quickly towards self-reliance, however. Nevertheless, it is clear that NGOs offer the smallest loan sizes and relatively more social services than banks, savings banks, or credit unions. Credit unions and banks appear as leaders in serving large numbers of clients with small deposit accounts. Many micro-credit institutions focus on lending to the extremely poor. Fifty-three percent of the clients live in rural areas.
Many organizations also focus on loans for women.
NGOs have actively sought female clients, based on traditionally high female loan repayment rates coupled with the finding that women tend to spend a greater percentage of their share of household income on items such as food and children's clothes, education, and health. Grameen Trust had 105 partner projects in 34 countries around the world by the end of 2000. The poor are a good credit risk, especially in the context of mutual responsibility systems. The poor, like all people, are the best judges of their own situation and know best how to use credit when it is available, especially when they are being supervised and encouraged by their peers. Credit programs for the very poor, when properly administered, teach and reinforce entrepreneurial behavior and self-sufficiency rather than promoting dependency.