Free Email Updates
-
Recent Contributors
Drew Meyers is a travel addict and founder of Horizon. Social entrepreneurship & microfinance advocate.
Hi, I'm a finance blogger who is interested in how different financial tools, including microfinance, can deliver real value to consumers.
Kiva Small Business Advisor for the Greater Seattle area. Reach me at raheem.kiva@gmail.com
Currently a Master of Public Administration (MPA) student at Bowling Green State. University in Bowling Green, Ohio, USA. Specializing in International Development with focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
I work in Advertising Operations at Zillow, but LOVE microfinance. I'm always interested in startups, especially non-profits, reach out to me if you're working on anything cool!
-
Recent Comments
Categories
Admin

The Real Impact of Microfinance in the U.S
Published By Alfred on August 12, 2015
Microfinance commenced in the United States after the realization that microlending programs were working abroad, and something similar could be implemented in the country by modifying our epistemological perspective on the subject. The U.S is a formal economy that has different issues from less developed countries. The aim is more than subsistence. The aim is to increase the quality of life of the borrower and her/his family to create prosperous communities.
While microloans for equipment purchase, working capital, marketing, and start-up capital are common reasons for the purpose of the funds. Microfinance is larger than these immediate solutions. For instance, Accion East aims at building a financially inclusive world with access to economic opportunity for all, by giving people the tools they need to improve their lives. These tools can involve financial guidance, business consulting, and more.
These loans and tools are offered in the hopes of a success story like Uvalda– Accion’s very first client in 1991. Uvalda, a recent immigrant at the time, requested a $500 loan to purchase a truck to sell Mexican food to factory workers. It went well, and subsequently received larger loans from the micro-finance institution. She later opened additional locations, and was able to put her kids through college. Her kids benefited, and are more than likely better positioned to navigate their course of life compared to when her mother started her trajectory.
Microfinance in the U.S expects a real impact in the long-term lives of their borrowers, family members, and communities. In the end, it strives to increase the social and economic development of the society at large.