University Students' Role in Microenterprise
Over the last few years university student-run microenterprise organizations have emerged to offer direct services (both training and financing) to small business owners in their local communities. This study explores the strengths and challenges of these nascent, yet growing, organizations, as well as their potential impact on the field in general. A case study of an eight-year program out of Yale University, the Elmseed Enterprise Fund, is presented here.
On October 24-25, 2009, FIELD co-sponsored athe first conference of these student groups, "Scale and Sustainability: Increasing the Impact of Student-led Microenterprise Organizations", at Rutgers University. Read about the student groups' progress from that inaugural conference and learn about the subsequently formed collaborative of those student groups. The Campus Microfinance Alliance (CMA). CMA has continued to host these annual convening’s, the most recent, Climbing the Growth Tree, was held in October 2011 on the Yale University campus.
The following publications are geared towards student groups but can also be useful for startup and small scale microenterprise organizations looking to improve their marketing and data collections practices:
Marketing for Micro 101: Lessons from around the U.S.
Lend for America Internship
Interested in spending the summer working with an innovative microfinance organization and translating that experience to work on your university campus? Campus MFI and the Aspen Institute are partnering to offer this paid internship opportunity to students that are looking for meaningful summer work and want to make a difference on campus. Read more about the internship.
