Matriculation and Microfinance at Bentley, Harvard Universities
Microfinance programs are popping up at colleges and universities around the U.S.
At most U.S. institutions of higher learning there are long-standing traditions of community service. Today, growing needs among the economically disadvantaged, coupled with President Obama’s signing of a $5.7 billion national service bill last month, has made volunteerism as prominent as it was back when Jefferson Airplane sang of its virtues. (President Obama has even proposed creating a $4,000 tuition tax credit for college students who perform 100 hours of community service.)
In particular, microfinance is fast becoming a hot area for student philanthropy, with microfinance clubs springing up at many colleges and universities around the country. A piece on Boston NPR affiliate WBUR this week provides yet another case in point. The story covers a group of students at Bentley University whose microfinance class grew into the idea to launch a microloan program for local entrepreneurs. (The story was also picked up by our friends over at the Change.org blog.)
These enterprising students add Bentley to a growing list of schools with budding microfinance programs. At Harvard University a group of students founded the Cambridge Microfinance Initiative (CMI) to provide technical assistance to microentrepreneurs in Cambridge, Mass. Unlike the Bentley group, which has chosen to fundraise for loan capital from alumni and parents, the CMI focuses on education and technical assistance to emerging microentrepreneurs. The CMI helps clients who need capital access loans from the ACCION USA loan fund. (Read the Boston Globe’s story on the CMI, which includes a profile of ACCION USA client Nasrin Imam, who reached us via the CMI).
Are you a student group interested in creating a microfinance program at your school? Contact ACCION USA and let us know. We can help you get started with small business training materials, as well as information how you can help microentrepreneurs in your community access microloans up to $50,000 via our Internet loan program.