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The Impact of Micro-Enterprise

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Microenterprise is defined as “a small business that employs a small number of employees.” (Investopedia.com) A microenterprise operates on a small scale, having a handful of employees and beginning with little capital. Micro-enterprises concentrate on providing goods, services, and sustainable jobs to impoverished people through the creation of ultra-small businesses. Microenterprise is the embodiment of the old saying, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” (Martin) Unfortunately, many do not realize the importance and positive impact of the microenterprise. In his report, Microenterprise in First and Third Worlds, Mark Schreiner writes that there are two types of micro-enterprises, first world and third world. (Schreiner 4) These kinds are set based on their societal needs and economic state. First world micro-enterprises tend to consist of non-traded services, such as DJing at parties, daycare for children or pets, cooking and selling food and drinks at festivals, cutting hair, etc. Most third world micro-enterprises produce goods and services like making and selling arts and crafts, cooking and selling food on the street, running a rickshaw, etc. When given a little inventory and capital to start a microenterprise, one can become self-sufficient with a thriving way of life in his or her community. Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi entrepreneur, banker, and economist, introduced the idea of microenterprise in 1976. In 2006, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his Foundation, Grameen Bank, which means ‘bank of the poor’ in Bangladesh. The foundational motive of the bank is to loan to the poor so that they develop economic self-sufficiency. The organization’s website describes their exponential growth; going from less than fifteen thousand borrowers in 1980, 2.34 million by 1998, 7.67 million at the end of 2008, and to 9.4 million today. Muhammad Yunus’s Grameen Bank has evolved from a micro-enterprise to a large nonprofit that presents an abundance of opportunities to some of the poorest people in the world. Wayne Elsey, the founder of Soles4Souls, realized that shoes are universally needed and valued, can be traded for other goods, and are a tangible commodity that is easy to transport and sell. A club at a local school has joined the fight to end poverty with the distribution of shoes by starting their own drive.The Teens in Service Club at Napa High School has started a city-wide shoe drive. The club reached out to local schools and businesses such as; Redwood Middle School, Silverado Middle School, River Middle School, Vichy Elementary School, Browns Valley Elementary School, the Napa Valley Unified School District Office Building, a

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