A charity which has its headquarters in Oxford contributed £4.3m to reduce global poverty last year.

Opportunity International, which specialises in giving small, low-cost loans to encourage people to set up their own businesses in poorer countries, said the figure for 2001 was a 250 per cent rise.

Director Neil Cuthbert said: "We're delighted with our continued growth, which is thanks in very large part to major grants during the year from the British Government for our work in Russia, Zambia and Malawi.

"Reasonable interest rates, business support and training are as crucial to the success of small businesses in countries such as Zimbabwe, India, Croatia and Colombia as they are here in Britain.

"We want our clients to succeed because then their loans are repaid and that money can be lent out again. More importantly, it means another family has an income for a better life for them and their children."

Opportunity International has about ten staff at its office in St Clement's but it is part of a network of 48 international organisations working to reduce poverty in 25 countries. Last year, the network made 426,927 loans with an average value of £39 and a total value of £60.7m, creating more than 190,000 jobs. The repayment success rate was 98 per cent.