New Opportunities
Micro-Enterprise in the Inner City
Volunteers of America is helping the poorest members of society in greater Los Angeles overcome their poverty by becoming business owners.
Working in collaboration with Grameen Foundation, USA, Volunteers of America has brought
New Opportunities to poor people in the inner city with a micro-enterprise program that uses credit as a weapon to fight poverty. Offering credit for new business ventures serves as a catalyst in the development of financial self-sufficiency for people who have been kept outside the banking system on the grounds of being poor and therefore not good credit risks.
The goal of Volunteers of America's New Opportunities program is to help low-income, minority men and women develop successful businesses, credit track-records, and pull themselves out of poverty.
Modeled after a program called Grameen developed in the 1970's, groups of five people with entrepreneurial affinity are organized and assisted with business plan development. Using peer accountability (as well as peer pressure), the group reviews business proposals, approves loans, provides moral support and feedback for its members. The group approves small, collateral-free loans to two of its group members. After the first two entrepreneurs have begun to pay back their loans, the next group members become eligible for loans.
Initial loans are limited to $500. No loan is collateralized other than through character and trust. Subsequent loans can reach $10,000, depending on circumstances.
For more information on
Volunteers of America's
New Opportunities
call (818) 980-2287
