In Andrée Simon, women war survivors find an ally

Andrée Simon, president and chief operating officer of Women for Women International, sees herself as a custodian of investments made in programs for women around the world.

“Every dollar we waste doesn’t get into the hands of those women. Every dollar we save adds to their lives,” Simon said. “Staying focused on that equation helps me to balance my head and my heart.”

During eight years working with the Foundation for International Community Assistance, Simon was drawn to microfinance because of “the blend of analytical rigor and social benefit it offered.” Now, as she works with survivors of conflict, she remains mindful that loans alone cannot make her constituents self-sustaining.

“If you don’t consider the person you’re trying to help holistically, it’s like giving them a hammer without any nails,” she said. “[Women for Women International’s approach] addresses emotional and physical health, social integration, and rights awareness alongside vocational training and basic literacy.”

Simon is currently focused on helping Women for Women sustain its strong growth trajectory. While at Finca International, Simon helped grow the organization’s lending portfolio from $30 million to more than $320 million — and 700,000 clients — by the time she left.

One of the financial crisis’s unexpected benefits for the international development community, Simon said, has been an influx of private-sector management strategies as new talent gravitated toward the public sector.

“This is having a great leveraging effect and will continue to do so,” she said. “The big question the field has to address is how to integrate private-sector principles without losing sight of what we are doing.”

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