One year after the collapse of major U.S. banks such as Bear Stearns led to a severe credit crunch for U.S. consumers, the new study Microfinance in Africa: Bringing Financial Services to Africa’s Poor, finds that simple Village Savings and Loan Associations – run primarily by poor women with no outside capital investment – successfully weathered the financial crisis while providing loans to many of Africa’s poorest people. The report tells of women – many living on less than $2 a day – who pooled a few pennies and made small loans to help people start small businesses.