Press Release
April 28, 2010
Microfinance USA:
Growing Small Businesses, Changing Lives
First national conference on scaling community investment (May 20-21)
• Press Conference: New report on microfinance economic impact (Thursday, May 20, 8:45 a.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Galleries and Forum Bldg, 701 Mission St @ 3rd St, San Francisco)
• Microfinance USA Conference: 5/20 Plenary with First Lady of California Maria Shriver and President of Kiva, Premal Shah. 5/21 Opening Remarks from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
(Conference: Thursday, May 20, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; Friday, May 21, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Westin Market St.)
• Tour of microfinance borrower businesses in San Francisco
San Francisco, CA: In the face of tight credit and stubborn unemployment, a growing movement of non-profit lenders and investors is offering hope – a path to job creation and economic uplift. Microfinance, the practice popularized overseas of providing small business loans for low-income people, has grown rapidly in the U.S in recent years. Microfinance USA (May 20-21st, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Westin Market St., SF) is the first national conference to bring together key players to share insights and map next steps for scaling this effective strategy.
“Microfinance is an amazing way for Americans to lend to those in need right in their own backyard,” said First Lady of California Maria Shriver, the plenary speaker at Microfinance USA and head of We Invest. “We are proud to partner with U.S. microfinance leaders, to give small entrepreneurs the business training, mentoring, and support networks they need to build a sustaining business and provide for their families. This will allow us to empower thousands across America to become more financially independent, showing that every loan can make a real difference and change a life.”
US microfinance is led by non-profit lenders such as Bay Area-based Opportunity Fund, convener of the conference. These lenders combine loans, savings and hands-on business coaching for small entrepreneurs who would not typically qualify for a traditional bank loan. High loan repayment rates, a proven ability to create jobs, and a business success rate that is more than double the national small business survival rate show that the microlending sector has a valuable role to play in the U.S. economic recovery.
“We are growing a movement of public interest banking that profits people and fuels the economy,” said Eric Weaver, Opportunity Fund CEO. “Helping clients save, develop their business acumen and capitalize their very small businesses not only assists a lot of hard-working people and their families, but has tangible economic impacts in the larger community.”
Opportunity Fund’s results show that small loans can make a significant impact on employment and cycle right back into the community to create more jobs. Opportunity Fund clients report an average 50 percent increase in their number of employees two years after receiving a loan. Moreover, new independent research (to be released at the Thursday 8:45 a.m. press conference) shows that every new dollar invested by Opportunity Fund into local small businesses has a financial return of at least 2 to 1, as it flows through the regional economy spurring new wages, new spending, and new tax revenues.
“Microlending provides a direct and effective way to help existing small businesses thrive and entrepreneurs to get their ideas off the ground quickly,” said Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org, a conference co-presenter. “Empowerment of small business owners will help California and the U.S. economy regain vitality. We now have the opportunity to scale the great social impact of microfinance here in the U.S.”
Lupita Acupido-Huesca was a single mother who became a massage therapist after years of giving her son daily massage to relieve his pain from a disabling neurological disorder. She dreamt of opening her own wellness center but was denied a bank loan. With the help of $7,000 in loans from Opportunity Fund, she was able to realize her dream. Lupe now owns her own growing massage therapy business in San Jose, CA, employing other women and providing training to new therapists as well.
“I couldn’t have done it without the loan, but it was also the financial training and business coaching I received from Opportunity Fund that helped me become a successful business owner,” says Acupido-Huesca.
Funding for microfinance comes from a variety of sources including individual investors—through such popular portals as Kiva—financial institutions, foundations, and state and federal governments.
"Every donor—from the federal government to a $25 contributor—has the opportunity to make a significant impact on the economy by investing in small businesses through microfinance,” says Gina Harman, President and CEO of ACCIÓN USA, a microlender with clients all across the country. "Microfinance is a sound investment that helps working people."
Conference attendees will hear from CA First Lady Maria Shriver, microfinance business owners, Kiva President Premal Shah and U.S. and international microfinance leaders, as well as having the opportunity to meet small business owners from across the country who have benefited from microfinance programs. Conference details at www.microfinanceusa2010.org/schedule/sessions.php
The conference is sponsored by Opportunity Fund, the ACCIÓN US Network, Kiva, Silicon Valley Microfinance Network and is supported by funding from Chevron, Bank of America, and Citi.
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Reporters and editors, please contact Laura Weide, 510-387-1739 (laura@sparkactionconsulting.com), or Caitlin McShane, 408-512-2211 (caitlin@opportunityfund.org) to arrange a press pass, a seat on the bus tour or to arrange interviews.
Portions of the conference will be webcast on May 20 beginning at 9 a.m. at www.microfinanceusa2010.org/webcast/
Conference blog at www.microfinanceusa2010.org/blog
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