News Events

• FIELD Director Elaine Edgcomb described the current state of the domestic microenterprise industry and where there are opportunities for growth during a "Summit on Microfinance in the U.S.," keynoted by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and hosted by ACCION Texas, Nov. 6-7, 2007. Read her speech.



• FIELD's Director Elaine Edgcomb testified before the House Committee on Small Business about the importance of two SBA programs to the microenterprise industry on June 14, 2007. Read testimony.



• This speech, delivered by FIELD Director Elaine Edgcomb at the annual conference of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity in May 2006, took an in-depth look at how the the microenterprise industry was using a set of FIELD’s recommendations to try to achieve long-term growth and stability. Read speech.

Press Releases

• Citi Foundation Funds Interns for 20 Microenterprise Organizations
  March 11, 2008
  
  
• 8 Microenterprise Organizations Selected for New “Scale Academy”
  May 16, 2007
  
  
• Mott Foundation grant boosts new project to help nonprofits serve more entrepreneurs
  March 23, 2007
  
  
• 25 Organizations Selected to Join New “Citigroup Microenterprise Researchers Program”
  March 5, 2007
  
  
• Citigroup Foundation provides $250,000 to launch new academy to help microenterprise programs “scale-up” to serve more entrepreneurs
  February 28, 2007
  
  
• The Citigroup Foundation Awards $250,000 to the Aspen Institute, Launching the Microenterprise Researchers Program
  December 18, 2006

In the News

“'We're the guardians of the middle class',” The Guardian , May 12, 2008. Read article

“Yale students serve as bankers for struggling entrepreneurs,” Associate Press, May 8, 2008. Read article

“Small businesses find it tougher to get tiny loans,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 25, 2008. Read article

“Lending Plan Won Prize, But Will It Work Here?” The New York Times, April 1, 2008. Read article

“Bernanke coming to S.A. to put spotlight on microlending,” mysanantonio.com, Oct. 28, 2007. Read article

“Big Boost for Small Business,” The Aspen Idea Magazine, Summer 2007. Read article

“Microenterprise Development in the U.S.: Past, present and future,” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ Community Dividend, Issue 2, 2007. Read article

“Big Boost for Small Business,” The Aspen Idea Magazine, Summer 2007. Read article

“Temperature Check: What’s the Status of the Microenterprise Field?” AEO Exchange, Issue 24, October-December 2006. Read article

“Micro-lending takes root in Bay Area,” San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 9, 2006. Read article

“Importing Microfinance,” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Region Focus, Nov. 8, 2006. Read article

Entrepreneurship: The Foundation for Economic Renewal in the GulfCoast Region, Conference Proceedings, April 10-11, 2006. Conference sponsors: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, The Public Forum Institute, The Urban Entrepreneur Partnership. Read article

“Microenterprise: Growing Businesses, Assets and Markets,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Banking and Community Perspectives, Issue 2, 2005. Read article

Community Development Finance Research Conference: A Summary, Dec. 9-10, 2004. Conference sponsors: Federal Reserve banks of Philadelphia and New York, with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Read article

“Probing the Hidden Economy,” The Aspen Idea Magazine, Winter 2004/2005. Read article