 Micro Loans Make A Powerful Impact(Page 3 of 4) Like Anew America, Creating Economic Opportunities for Women (C.E.O. Women) also focuses on helping immigrant entrepreneurs, but differs in that it serves women only, and provides outright small grants rather than loans. The pioneering organization won the Innovation Award for their unique curriculum, and founder/CEO Farhana Huq, 29, recently was named an Affiliate to the Ashoka Fellowship, the foremost international fellowship for social entrepreneurs. C.E.O. Women's curriculum uses the telenovela concept, an 18-chapter collection, to illustrate the adventures of immigrant women starting a business in the U.S. It is in simple English, followed by English language lessons with emphasis on business terminology. Every other month, the organization holds a "Shine Your Brilliance" gathering, where the women lead a workshop that centers on their skills and businesses they want to start, according to Huq. One woman led a workshop on how to make chile rellenos, then did a product survey asking how they rated the food and how much they would pay for it. Today that woman runs her own restaurant. Inspired by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh which provides microloans to impoverished women so that they can run informal businesses, TMC Development Working Solutions launched its own micro-loan program in January 2005. "With each borrower we set up an educational component, individually tailored to them," explains Program Director Emily Gasner. Gasner insists that partnership and collaboration between nonprofits has been the key to success. Working Solutions has partnered with, among others, the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, LCD and San Francisco's LGBT Center, where they cosponsored workshops on how to start a business. Looking Ahead The venerable Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center serves both men and women entrepreneurs, helping broker loans from both micro-lenders and banks, and, like Anew America, includes a Small Business Association-sponsored Women's Center. The Center training begins with an eight-week class that assesses both feasibility of the participant's business idea and whether or not the participant has the personal characteristics and readiness to succeed as an entrepreneur. | ||
|
Bay Area Business Woman Digital Edition
Double click above for FREE subscription!
|
|
|
Copyright
2008 by Business Woman, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Legal
and Privacy.
Website ReDesign by Chaska Creative Web Hosting by Modo Web Design |
