Do You Know a Micro-Social-Entrepreneur?
This blog was published in a different version on the New York Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE) blog here.
I recently met an ACCION USA client named Maria. The day that I met her, she had just been approved for a loan to purchase more inventory for her NYC Green Cart, where she sells fruits and vegetables in the South Bronx. And just one week prior, Maria had given birth to her third child, who was in her arms while she completed her loan disbursement.
Upon meeting Maria, I immediately connected her business with the mission of many social ventures. And while I’m only beginning to understand the breadth of the conversation surrounding the definition of “social entrepreneurship,” I intuitively feel that all female microentrepreneurs have an inherent social mission. My logic is in part derived from my experiences working in the microfinance field – experiences that have entrenched my belief in localized social change and the positive reverberations that it can cause. I’m now becoming more comfortable defending the belief that all female microentrepreneurs are social entrepreneurs, since well… no one can seem to agree on the correct definition anyway.
So if many female microentrepreneurs don’t intentionally incite a wake of social change, can they still be categorized as social entrepreneurs? Let us know what you think…
Tags: entrepreneurship, green cart, new york city, social entrepreneurship, success story, us microfinance
What Makes an Entrepreneur an Entrepreneur?
ACCION USA borrower Frederick at his emissions testing center.
“The driving need isn’t different, and the dreams aren’t different, and the final outcomes may be influenced by different factors, but in essence [U.S. and international borrowers] aren’t different,” said Gina Harman, ACCION USA’s CEO, shortly before the organization formed its groundbreaking partnership with Kiva, regarded primarily for its work in the developing world. She stressed the importance of conveying what a massive change small business ownership can mean for a client – “it’s about the human desire to provide, and the devotion to doing whatever has to be done to make it work.”
Her words describe exactly what I’ve been experiencing for the last few weeks, as I meet with clients and hear stories revealing their drive for success. I know if I had a business idea that my local bank didn’t seem to believe in enough to give me a loan, I would probably just resign myself to thinking it was harebrained in the first place and call it a day. ACCION USA borrowers do just the opposite—when they are turned down by a bank, they come to us instead.
Just last week I spoke with Frederick, an ACCION USA borrower who had tired of working for government agencies as a fire inspector and dreamed of starting his own emissions inspection business. After he told me he was turned down by a bank before he came to ACCION USA, I asked him why he was so devoted to starting his own business.
“What makes you happy?” I asked him.
“Giving others the best service I can,” he said. “I knew I couldn’t do that unless I was working for myself.”
How often do we complain about our lack of professional fulfillment without attempting to do something about it? When people like Frederick share their stories and express the devotion with which they tackle, as Gina said, “whatever has to be done,” it should make us all reflect on the choices we have to pursue our own ambitions.
Elise Tosun has a background in economics and has worked on designing financial products for farmers in India and for a microfinance investment fund in New York. She is currently the Kiva Program Intern at ACCION USA.
Tags: accion, accion usa, elise tosun, entrepreneurship, gina harman, kiva, kiva.org, us microfinance
You’d Never Guess (or Would You?)
Which state is number one in entrepreneurship in the nation? That’s right: our very own state of Georgia. I, too, was surprised to learn of the findings of the Kauffman Foundation’s 2008 Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, released earlier this month. Georgia ranks first, with 580 entrepreneurs per 100,000 adults, and our capital Atlanta tops U.S. metropolitan cities with 740 per 100,000 adults!
Home to more than just peaches, Georgia ranks first in entrepreneurs per capita.
Then again it should not have been a surprise given that working at ACCION USA we come in daily contact with many budding and seasoned entrepreneurs. So we like to think that we had something to do with Georgia’s ranking. Last year, ACCION USA Georgia alone helped 134 entrepreneurs with $751,082 in loans. Interestingly, Massachusetts and New York, where two of the other ACCION USA offices operate, follow in the third and fourth spot. Impressive, right? And there’s good news throughout the country, with all regions showing an increase in entrepreneurial activity from 2007 to 2008. With our Internet lending we reach out and help entrepreneurs all over the nation, so “yay” to us ACCIONistas (and goes without saying our many colleagues and partners in the microfinance field).
Kudos also go to the small business owners: the Index reports that it is the smallest businesses just like our clients (a good percentage of which are immigrant-owned) that drive this trend. Larger businesses, on the other hand, show a decline in entrepreneurial activity, which is not surprising given the current state of our economy. Small businesses come to the rescue, yet again, and tackle recession by creating jobs and increasing prospects for their families, employees and communities. This just goes to prove that ACCION USA’s mission is right on target. So the next time you come across an entrepreneur who is looking for help with starting or growing a business, send him/her our way; chances are there is one right around the corner.
As for us down South, that person is probably sitting right next to you. So if the rest of you still think the South is laid back – a common (mis)perception – think again all y’all. Come visit Georgia, the state of entrepreneurs (oh, yes, and peaches too).
Tags: accion, accion usa, accion usa georgia, atlanta, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, georgia, kauffman foundation, small businesses