Boston Herald: Extra credit
Program lets students lend a hand to local entrepreneurs.
College students looking for real-world experience and a way to make a difference have a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of microfinance. The Campus Microfinance Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of student-run microfinance groups that have lent more than $150,000 to disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Their new website (campusmfi.org) lets students apply to their internship program. If selected, they learn to help other students create microfinance organizations on their campus.
“The idea is we match selected students with one of (our members),” said Vanessa Carter, director of College Microfinance Alliance. “Students spend the summer learning hands-on skills and then receive support from us to go back (to their school) and start their own group.”
Andy Posner, co-founder of the Capital Good Fund, a microfinance organization he started at Brown University while completing his master’s degree in environmental studies, said starting his own microfinance organization was “experiential learning” at its best.
The mission of the Capital Good Fund is to provide small loans to struggling entrepreneurs as a way to “empower people to move out of poverty and become leaders on environmental issues,” Posner said. …
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