A man walks in the street at the start of the new curfew to counter the COVID-19 in the center of Lyon, central France, Saturday, January 16, 2021. All of France will be under a stricter curfew starting Saturday at 6 p.m. for at least 15 days to fight the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)

A Kimono-clad woman wearing a fashionable face mask poses for a photograph at Coming of Age Day celebration ceremony at Yokohama Arena after the government declared the second state of emergency for the capital and some prefectures, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan on January 11, 2021. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

General view of performance during the “Fuerza Bruta Wayra” show on February 28, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Xavi Torrent/Getty Images)

The shoemaker in Turkey, the potato seller in Vietnam, and the weaver in Bolivia are among the billions of low-income entrepreneurs who make the world go round. They are also the type of people who can benefit significantly from microfinance. Every year, the Consultative Group To Assist The Poor (or CGAP) hosts a photo contest asking entrants to submit photos based around the idea of microfinance.The purpose of the contest is to give amateur and professional photographers a chance to show the different ways that poor households manage their financial lives and make their lives better through financial inclusion. Photo: South Asia Regional Winner – “Bricks Worker”, Bangladesh. A private enterprise worker is working at a brick field. These small businesses are creating new job opportunities for many poor people. (Photo by Moksumul Haque)

Tigray refugees who fled the conflict in the Ethiopia's Tigray ride a bus going to the Village 8 temporary shelter, near the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, Tuesday, December 1, 2020. (Photo by Nariman El-Mofty/AP Photo)

Osman Abdulahi carries fish at the Orobo beach in Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia on November 5, 2021. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)

A man crosses from a pirogue to another pirogue during the annual boat regatta in Yauri, Kebbi State, on February 15, 2025. The regatta festival started about 200 years ago as a display of naval strength of the Gungu people, where the Gungu warriors annually attacked dangerous hippopotamus that were destroying farmlands. Warriors would board various sizes of canoes with different types of weapons to attack the animal on the River Niger. This required expertise in canoe paddling and naval warfare. It also served as training exercise for upcoming Gungu warriors. (Photo by Toyin Adedokun/AFP Photo)

A monkey licks ice during the annual “monkey buffet” in Lopburi province, some 150 kms north of Bangkok on November 24, 2013. More than 2,000 kilos of fruits and vegetables were offered to the monkeys during the annual festival to help promote tourism in the area. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)