Growth in Microfinance Field Spurs Debate: Microfinance Council Guest Post
Recently, ACCION USA’s Microfinance Council authored a guest post on the Woodstock Institute Blog. In it, the microfinance volunteer and advocacy group explored the ongoing debate between interest rates and sustainability:
“The popular debate about microfinance ignores the most important ideological challenge confronting the industry: how to balance the tradeoff between interest rates and sustainability. The cost of providing microfinance products is extremely high. Large banks benefit from scale and from borrowers’ strong credit histories and collateral in case of default; a MFI generally has none of these advantages, making it more difficult and costly to determine whether the loan will be repaid.”
Read the full Woodstock institute guest post.
Why We Do This: Greg’s Microfinance Success Story
Elements of financial education appear throughout the lending process. From teaching individuals about the high costs of payday loans to showing business owners how to separate their personal and business finances, ACCION USA equips and empowers entrepreneurs with the education to achieve their financial goals.
Every so often, one of those days comes along that brings you back to the roots of what you do. It’s that client, that partner, that sale or proposal – that something that stands out and reinforces your daily work. It’s what causes you to go home with a smile on your face.
I’m fortunate to work in a place where these days come frequently – weekly, not quarterly. At ACCION USA, our success comes from our clients, and you’ve probably seen our many client success stories. Read one, and you’ll see the power of matching a microloan with the entrepreneurial spirit. It’s exciting, and it’s inspiring.
What you might not see, though, is the added value of financial education – an element of ACCION USA’s service portfolio that makes us unique among microfinance organizations. Elements of our financial education program are weaved into each and every client success story. Whether the client attended a legal counseling workshop, used our online budgeting worksheet, or received a half-hour of technical assistance from a loan consultant, financial education is ever-present in our work.
One of our most recent success stories is a true testament to this service.
Greg’s journey with ACCION USA began in February 2009. He owns an answering service business and needed a loan to keep up with his growing list of clientele. When a damaged credit history and low credit score meant that he didn’t qualify for a loan, Greg demonstrated two characteristics that entrepreneurs tend to possess: persistence and a desire to learn. He contacted our Boston office, determined to understand how he could improve his credit history.
That call was the first of many. Throughout the next year, my colleague Melissa led Greg through the process of improving his score. With her guidance, Greg took control of his debt, improved his credit score over 60 points, and regularly called to check in with Melissa. And his hard work paid off: last month, Greg was approved for a loan.
Greg is proof that financial education can give hard-working, determined individuals the boost they need to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. And all I’m left to say is congratulations. Congratulations to Greg on his persistence and drive to grow his business. Congratulations to Melissa for her dedication.
And congratulations to all of ACCION USA’s supporters for helping connect them. You make this all possible.
Tags: accion usa, client, Financial Education, microfinance, microloan, service, small business, success story, technical assistance, value added, workshop
Green Marketing Tips For Small Businesses
There’s never been a better time to go green: It’s an easy way for businesses looking to grow during the recession to save money and increase profits. Going green can help your small business in a big way by tapping into eco-conscious consumers while operating on the cutting edge of innovative small business practices. Knowing how to market a business as eco-friendly is a must nowadays, and that’s why ACCION USA and Kiwano Marketing partnered to provide a free, online workshop to help small business owners learn how to incorporate sustainability into their marketing programs.
But this is not all. We know that it takes green ($) to go green. As a leader in microfinance, ACCION USA recently launched a green microloan program for small businesses across the U.S. interested in investing in eco-friendly products and services and energy-efficiency measures. ACCION USA is bringing to the table Kiwano Marketing as a lead thinker in the realm of green marketing for small business owners. A regular in industry publications such as The Green Economy Post, Business Management Daily, Globe-NET, Charity Village, The Matter Network, and The Green Pages (among others), Kiwano uses a holistic approach to green marketing that emphasizes tracking and metrics, culminating in actionable, hands-on marketing programs that fit any budget and have little impact on the environment.
On May 25th, Kiwano founder Sofia Ribeiro will lead participants through a class on Green Marketing Tips, highlighting various ways that small businesses can create effective, inexpensive campaigns that improve brand awareness – and increase sales revenues. On this webinar, you will learn:
- What truly makes a green brand
- How to craft a personable green message
- How to prevent being accused of greenwashing
- The best ways to generate business from green consumers and businesses
- What green marketing strategies work for small businesses on a tight budget
Details:
Turning Green into Gold: Green Marketing Tips For Sustainable Businesses
When: May 25, at 1:00pm PST / 4:00pm EST
Where: Online
Cost: Free
Register now.
Perhaps you’re well on your way to incorporating eco-friendly products or services into your business. Now sign up to take the steps to creating a more profitable business through the best green marketing techniques!
Hey, Small Businesses! Save Energy, Save Money.
Did you know that Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs require 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than ordinary light bulbs? Did you know that this can result in savings of $30 per light bulb?[1]
At the same time, according to National Grid, restaurants in the United States spend on average $2.90 per square foot on electricity and $0.85 per square foot on natural gas annually. This means 3 to 5 percent of their total operating costs are typically spent on energy. But there are ways to reduce these costs!
Whether you own a business that operates in a home, office, or restaurant setting, you can save money on your utilities bills and become more energy efficient.
If you’re wondering how you can save money on lighting and other energy-consuming office or kitchen appliances in your business, then join ACCION USA, Todd Cowger, and David Graziano from RISE Engineering at the Making your Business Energy Efficient webinar on May 20th from 12-1pm EST to learn more.
Especially in hard economic times, businesses are always looking to save money. By taking steps to improve energy efficiency, your business can reduce costs, increase energy efficiency, and contribute to environmentally-sound practices. It is difficult to know where to start, but our webinar experts can point you in the right direction.
Learn about energy audits, benefits and incentives for using occupancy controls and programmable thermostats in your business, and discuss how to engage your employees in energy-saving practices that can help your business save money!
SIGN UP NOW to learn how to reduce energy costs while improving your company’s bottom line and worker productivity.
[1] http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/safe-green-investments-47091801#ixzz0gZ4MhzgY
Microfinance Week in Review- Week Ending May 14, 2010
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector
- Growth in microfinance field spurs debate- Woodstock Institute
- Summit touts green business options- Orlando Sentinel
- The Soul of Microfinance: Purpose, Poverty, Pitfalls and Redemption- The Huffington Post
- Big banks slashed small business credit lines- CNN
- Energy In Common Launches Kiva-like Platform to Combat Energy Poverty- Triple Pundit
Students + U.S. Microfinance = Three Reasons to Blog
I have three reasons to blog today, and all three relate to college students and U.S. microfinance.
1. Microfinance USA conference (MFUSA)
The conference takes place in San Francisco from May 20-21, and includes keynote speakers Maria Shriver and Gavin Newsom. “A Living History: U.S. Microfinance Past, Present and Future” and “Leveraging Partnerships to Reach Millions” are two of the panels to which I am most looking forward. I also can’t wait to meet some of the 200 students that will be in attendance at the conference. I’ll be moderating a panel on student-led microfinance to talk with various stakeholders in microfinance initiatives on campuses across the U.S. and discuss their strengths, challenges, and impact. I hope to see you there!
2. A video about a lemonade stand
Recently ACCION USA ran a “Twitition” (A competition on Twitter) in which three student groups competed to win two trips to the Microfinance USA conference. In addition to tweeting in support of ACCION USA, the students held events on their campus to raise awareness about U.S. microfinance. I’d like to congratulate Global Youth Connection from the College of Wooster (Ohio), which won the Twitition and will be attending the conference next week. Because most students are more familiar with international microfinance, Global Youth Connection became an important voice for U.S. microfinance. Check out the video about their lemonade stand!
3. Tonight’s meeting with the Microfinance Council (MFC)
ACCION USA has a core group of volunteers called the Microfinance Council that is nearly 300 members strong. Tonight I will be meeting with them to discuss ACCION USA’s initiatives with campus microfinance clubs. The MFC will be heading up a project to manage partnerships between ACCION USA and student groups that are interested building awareness, fundraising, and bringing access to microloans in their communities. The MFC is essential in spearheading research into new products and partnerships at ACCION USA. We look forward to sharing with you the fruits of our work!
Working with students over the past few months, I have learned a great deal about their creativity and dedication to a cause. ACCION USA plans to continue expanding our connection with campus microfinance clubs. In the meantime, I am looking forward to learning about “Leveraging Partnerships to Reach Millions” at MFUSA and seeing how students can play a role in strengthening their communities.
Tags: accion usa, accionusa, lemonade stand, microfinance, microfinance usa, microfinance USA conference, student microfinance, us microfinance, Youth Microfinance Series
Microfinance Week in Review- Week Ending May 7, 2010
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector
- Providing Loans Based on Cash Flow, Not Credit Score – New York Times
- Getting Women from Micro to Mezzo – Business Week
- Citi Plans to Start a Small-Business Fund for Lower-Income Areas – The Wall Street Journal
- Help Is On The Way For Small Businesses Affected By Oil Spill - Fox News
- Big Banks’ Small-Business Lending Promises – Business Week
- Google Puts Millions in Wind Farms – New York Times
Story from the Field: Moped Productions
Maureen needed a microloan to help expand her media consulting and production company.
By Maika Hemphill, Loan Consultant, New York
When I first met Maureen it had been two years since she started her own business, Moped Productions, a dream realized after eight years working in video editing and production. At the time, Maureen’s sales were down due to the economy, but she knew that hiring an employee to develop a blog and newsletter would help her turn the corner. Maureen received from ACCION USA a $7,000 loan to make the hire, and her loan was posted to Kiva.org, where it was funded. Maureen’s relationship with ACCION USA led to more media coverage, and with it, increased sales. A few months later she landed a deal with a major cable TV network, pushing her business to expand further. With 40% paid down on her original loan, Maureen came back to ACCION USA in need of a larger loan to fund more projects.
Unfortunately, past family and personal matters resulted in a financial situation that was damaging to her credit, and her most recent credit did not prove she had experience handling large loan amounts. It is always tough to see cases where a client comes to us with credit issues due to circumstances that were out of his or her control. Maureen was left in a position where it would have potentially taken years to rebuild her credit to match the success of her business, impeding her ability to take on new projects. Maureen needed to partially fund her upcoming project and, in the process, improve her credit quickly to prepare for future business growth.
Through partial cash securitization of the loan, ACCION USA worked out a loan that was larger than her first. This gave Maureen the chance to pay off a larger loan amount and prove she could handle higher amounts of debt. Now her business’ credit is quickly catching up to its revenues. I worked for nearly seven hours on Maureen’s application, including the time I spent with underwriting to highlight her character and strengths. It was incredibly rewarding to find an effective solution because Maureen, like most of our clients, is a successful entrepreneur at heart; she just needed the chance to prove it.
Small Businesses: Define Your Green Market
In June 2009 , the U.S. Green Products Council posed some questions to help consumers make informed decisions about green labels and certifications. There were questions posed about the meaning and genuineness of products’ green labels; the consistency of the meaning of “green” across green products; and the transparency of the green-labeling business.
As a consumer interested in buying green products, I agree with the Consumer’s Union that these questions should be asked. If a product is labeled as “green,” I want to know why. How am I contributing to a healthier environment by buying this product?
At the same time, the trend of green labels is slightly intimidating to me. Before working with ACCION USA on their green loan program, I was not up on the lingo of the green business industry. I didn’t know what makes a product or business green and I didn’t know where to look to learn more. I want to help our community and environment by buying green products, but I don’t want to be afraid to ask questions when entering a ‘green’ business store in order to learn how it is that they have defined green.
Consumers like me need green business’ help! Small businesses can benefit from greening their businesses by saving money and improving their public image. As a consumer, I applaud businesses that “go green” and am willing to shop at green businesses. But in order to go green, small businesses need to outline their environmental policies and goals. Once businesses know what they’re aiming for, they should introduce their green marketing in a welcoming way that will reach the green consumer market – from green consumer novices to “pros.”
If effectively establishing and branding your business as green to the right consumer is something that is important to you and your business, join ACCION USA and guest speaker Deborah Guyer Greene, co-founder of epOxyGreen Eco Design Center on May 13 from 4-5 pm EST online. Our guest presenter has moderated and spoken on numerous panels and has appeared on The Sundance Channel, The Discovery Channel, KTLA and CBS as a green expert. She will guide participants through steps to approach the market from a sustainable, conscious angle and branding one’s business for the green market. Ms. Greene will use real life examples of green market opportunities to demonstrate strategies small businesses can use to capitalize on these opportunities.
Sign up today for ACCION USA’s free webinar, Branding your Business for the Green Market.