The Microcredit Boom

Distance Education Helps You Get Ahead

CanadianMedsWorld.com

Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank -- which grants microloans to millions of poor people -- says he dreams of a day "when nobody will be a poor person." But he believes in capitalism and entrepreneurship to achieve this.

"By defining 'entrepreneur' in a broader way we can change the character of capitalism radically, and solve many of the unresolved social and economic problems within the scope of the free market," Yunus said when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his "efforts to create economic and social development from below."

"Let us suppose an entrepreneur," Yunus continued, "instead of having a single source of motivation ... now has two sources of motivation ... a) maximization of profit, and b) doing good to people and the world."

In the United States, microlending is often achieved through credit cards because formal microlending is too expensive administratively for traditional banks. But many of the neediest people don't have credit histories, and credit cards have very high interest rates.

The Clinton administration introduced a microloan program to be administered primarily by nonprofit organizations that interfaced directly with low-income communities. Since then, the Bush administration has repeatedly zeroed out the microloan budget.

Fortunately, bipartisan support in the Senate, led by Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and John Kerry (D-Mass.), restored funding -- a mere total of $2 million for fiscal year 2007 in direct loan funds (used to leverage another $28 million of private money) and $10 million in microloan technical assistance.

In 2005, the Small Business Administration-backed microloan program resulted in 2,474 loans averaging $13,042 and totaling over $32 million. About 45 percent of the loans went to women.

You can help support microlending in the following ways:

• Encourage groups in your community to start and support microcredit programs.

• Donate to microcredit organizations.

• Spread the word. Tell your fellow entrepreneurs and members of community, religious, or ethnic groups.

• Urge your elected officials to support the U.S. microloan program.

You'll find a directory of microenterprise programs in your state, along with other resources on microcredit, at the web site of the Aspen Institute.

Microcredit works. Yunus and Grameen Bank have proved that helping hard-working poor people borrow small amounts of money to start their own businesses can change a community -- whether in Bangladesh, Boston, or Boise.

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Local man cleaning up with invention

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Windsor resident Bill Black doesn't shy away at challenges. He earned a black belt in karate, learned how to scuba dive and got his private pilot's license.

Now, the 50-year-old Black can add another accomplishment to that list: inventor.

Black's first invention, Samnic, is the world's first motorized golf cleat cleaner, allowing golfers to clean their shoes in seconds after each round rather than minutes. Samnic has been featured on commercials on the Golf Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, Spike TV and other channels since first being marketed in November.

"I think we've sold about 1,500 so far," Black said Monday from his Water Valley home in Windsor.

Samnic - named after his 11-year-old daughter Samantha and his 7-year-old son Nicholas - is a hand-held, battery-operated cleaner. Silver in color, Samnic - which retails for $19.95 - has a six-volt motor and runs on four AA batteries. It has a patented nylon-and-plastic head designed to clean in and around cleats. It also has an attachable brush to clean other parts of the shoe or other athletic shoes such as soccer or baseball cleats.

"After every round, especially in Atlanta, your cleats are getting constantly dirty," Black said. "I was complaining once too many times when my brother said 'Why don't you invent something?' "

Challenged, Black did just that. Starting in March 2005, Black got a patent, hired an engineer to design the tool and a manufacturing company to make it.

"I started basically on a napkin or piece of paper," Black said. "We designed it with pointy things, and they would break off. Then we came up with a screwdriver idea, and that didn't work, either. We finally got it right."

Black, a 1980 graduate of Colorado State University with a bachelor's degree in psychology, spent most of his post-CSU years in Atlanta. He bought out his brother's martial arts school in 1981, and since then he and partners have opened 14 Dojo American Karate Centers in Atlanta and around that area.

Black, who grew up in Greenville, S.C., always wanted to return to Colorado. That became a reality last summer, when he and his wife Lisa came here to visit friends. After driving their van back to Atlanta, they sold their home there and within six weeks were living in Windsor.

Black is selling Samnic through three golf distribution companies: J&M Golf Inc. of Indiana, Charter Golf Products of Illinois and Pro Active Sports Inc. of Oregon. Locally, it's available at Collindale Golf Course and at Golf USA in Loveland. It's also available online at www.samnic.com.

"I think we've sold a couple," Collindale assistant pro Pat Finnegan said. "We haven't had much traffic here lately because of the snow. It's something that will catch on more in the springtime."

Black, who started playing golf at Collindale and now has a membership at Windsor's Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club, said he's thankful for two things that came out of Samnic.

"Being able to clean my shoes fast, absolutely lightning fast, is one," he said. "That and the education of learning how to take a product from a piece of paper to get it patented and to market. That education was really a nice benefit to have."

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