In order to start a business pretty much anywhere in the world one needs capital.
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Whether its one Dollar or thousands of Rubles its still capital and if you don't have it you have to borrow it, earn it or save it.

Some type of sacrifice is required. 
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Either by yourself in excising the discipline to save, or by somebody who lends the money to you.

Many of the first loans come from family, but what happens when all your family are just as destitute as you and employment opportunities are scarce?

This is the lot of many, many individuals and families in the developing world where local economies do not provide many of the opportunities so prevalent in the developed world. The developed world economies are however not immune and similar pockets of depressed economic activity exist there as well.

Lending and borrowing for the purpose of enabling greater economic activity has been around for millennia and its with the formation of banks that we see this process has become more formalized.

Formal banks driven by profit have mostly ignored the smallest and most diverse of the lending or credit sectors because the costs of administration vs the potential profits are simply not considered viable.

Since the 18th and 19th century there have been some attempts, around the world, at alleviating poverty through stimulating economic activities with minuscule loans to impoverished individuals.
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Success has varied but in more recent decades more successful projects gave rise to the term micro-credit. 

It is one thing for a family to band together and attempt to lift themselves out of poverty. It is another, and can accelerate poverty alleviation, when there is a direct injection of cash flow into a localized impoverished economic community. 

Formal micro-credit programs can accomplish this but as always, issues are complex and one size does not fit all.
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