Sparkassenstiftung provides proactive support to financial institutions that sustainably foster economic and social development at the local, regional or national level through needs-oriented banking services. Sparkassenstiftung’s goal is to assist its partner institutions to become more professional and therefore able to give their customers permanent access to financial services. The main target groups are small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), as well as poor and socially marginalised groups. This orientation to SMEs and low-income earners actually benefits our partners too, because delivering services to these customer segments secures ongoing stable and satisfactory returns. By strengthening local and regional financial structures, Sparkassenstiftung not only generates development opportunities for wide sections of the population and local companies, but ultimately also helps to create jobs and income. This complies with the approach and objectives of Germany's Sparkassen. It also has a stabilising effect on the respective financial sector and, as a result, on the given country's economic development. With their 200-year history, Germany's Sparkassen show that sustainable microfinance is only feasible if it is organised efficiently and professionally. And it is these key success factors that Sparkassenstiftung communicates to its partners through its project work.