challenges of lending to rural entrepreneurs, including lack of infrastructure, distant markets, inadequate farming techniques, volatile prices, unpredictable weather, and variable cash flows. Women's World Banking also offers its network members advisory and technical assistance, including: Market Research, quantitative and qualitative in-market studies yielding key insights about the needs of poor women; results play an essential role in informing the modification or design and delivery of customer-centric products and services. Institutional Finance, advisory and brokering services to support MFIs in developing diversified sources of commercial funds, identifying appropriate investment partners, and negotiating with investors to achieve optimal terms. Formalization, advice and technical assistance to MFIs undergoing the process of transforming from nonprofit organizations to regulated financial institutions, which affords increased access to commercial funding, enables product diversification such as savings, and allows MFIs to mobilize client deposits. Marketing and Branding, helping MFIs refine their market positions, increase their customer acquisition and retention rates, and develop differentiated brand identities that engage, educate and empower low-income clients. Thought Leadership, producing and disseminating a range of research studies and publications to support the objective of being “the pre-eminent voice for women in microfinance” and ensure an ongoing focus on women in the industry, as well as to foster peer learning and collaboration across the network and sector. The network As a network, Women's World Banking itself does not issue loans directly to microentrepreneurs. Rather, it serves as a partner to its 52 member institutions which lend to more than 24 million poor clients, of which 80 percent are women, in their respective markets across five regions: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. The network represents an outstanding loan portfolio of more than US$5.5 billion and an average loan size per borrower of $1,200 (based on 2009 data). Studies have shown that by mobilizing resources outside their immediate control, networked nonprofits achieve their missions more efficiently, effectively, and sustainably than they could have by working alone. Women's World Banking offers its network members services for which scale improves efficiency. From a centralized vantage point, Women's World Banking is able to conduct market research, gather global insights, spot trends, and facilitate peer-to-peer learning. Much of a network's power lies in the support that its members give to each other: Women's World Banking member institutions share product and process innovations, relay best practices and lessons learned,