Business Profile #1 & Loan Request

Business Profile #1

My name is Marie M. I thank the founder of MicroCreditCapital for thinking about us, small business entrepreneurs in Haiti. I have been running my small shop for five years now. I sell mostly clothing, fresh produce and other seasonal items that my customers like. My store is located near a major road in the community's major market. So I have the opportunity to sell to a large group of people. The only problem I have is that my inventory is too small. I would like to expand the business and have more items for sale. I would like to borrow $400.00. I have had lots of experience selling in the community. After completing my studies, I spent three years studying accounting. Since my graduation from accounting school, I have been running this small shop. Any infusion of new funds would greatly help my business. Any profits I make from the small business will help me take care of my parents who are getting old and the children of a family member who died a few years ago.

Translation provided by a MicroCreditCapital Partner who vetted this business.

Digital cameras donations are welcome. If you have some of them getting dust around the house. They can be put to good use by our partners in Haiti. E-mail us to indicate you are willing to give a gift. Pictures will be posted as we receive them.

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Lend to Marie M. or Business Profile #1. Get a small business going!

Microlending Has Come A Long Way: Its History Over The Years

Here is what our research has uncovered. Microcredit comes to give hope to those who would never qualify for a loan in traditional financial institutions. Most of these people can not qualify for a loan because they do not have collateral. MicroCreditCapital looks at substitutes to collateral in its determination and evaluation of good and sound business ideas.

The PBS/Frontline journalist did a series on microfinance. Its journalist Bob Krieger wrote the following, "In most Western or developed countries, it's relatively easy to obtain credit through large banks or money lending institutions. But in the developing world, where many people lack steady employment, credit history or collateral, there's often no way for legitimate small businesses to receive a loan.

In many ways, microfinance changed all of this. Generally defined as small lending to the rural poor in developing countries, microfinance has made great strides in the latter half of the 20th century. The 2006 Nobel Prize awarded to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, one of the founders of modern microfinance, has helped to push the industry even further into the spotlight. But the idea of microfinance has existed for hundreds of years -- in many regions and in many forms.
The Origins of Small Lending

Microlending often starts in small villages, where family members and friends get together in money-sharing groups. Mary Coyle, director of the International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, has studied the history of microcredit and says that these savings clubs can be traced to all parts of the world. "They have operated for centuries -- probably since the introduction of currency.'"