Microenterprise Training and Development

• What it is and why it works
• Approaches
• State and federal legislation
• Resources pertaining to this strategy

What it is and Why it Works

Microenterprise development is an income-generating strategy that helps low-income people start or expand very small businesses. Generally, the business is owned and operated by one person or family, has fewer than five employees and can start up with a loan of less than $25,000. Microenterprise is an attractive option for low-income women who may have lacked opportunity but who are highly motivated and have skills in a particular craft or service.

Even in the current booming economy, pockets of unemployment and underemployment remain. The lack of quality employment options—especially for low-income, low-skilled women—makes microenterprise development a critical strategy for moving families out of poverty.

• Low-income women entrepreneurs, especially those living in rural or inner-city communities isolated from the economic mainstream, often lack the contacts and networks needed for business success.
• Peer networks (such as lending circles and program alumnae groups) help women learn to earn from each other, build self-esteem and organize around policy advocacy.
• Linkages between microentrepreneurs and more established women business owners provide program participants with role models, facilitate an ongoing transfer of skills, and expand networks.

Approaches

• In California, the Women's Initiative for Self Employment provides workshops, technical assistance, and loans to help women launch their own businesses.
• For many years, Women's Initiative served low- and moderate-income women, but with the devolution of welfare programs to the state and local levels, the organization has shifted its focus to concentrate on low-income women. Established in 1988, Women's Initiative has had a hand in the start-up or expansion of more than 150 businesses. Contact Barbara Johnson, Women's Initiative for Self-Employment, (415) 247-9473 or womensinitsf@igc.apc.org.

• Acre Family Day Care Corporation (AcreFDCC), located in Lowell, Massachusetts, trains women from Lowell's Latino and Cambodian communities to run their own licensed family day care businesses and establish contracts with the state to provide child care for low-income families. Training is adapted to the language and culture of each group, includes 100 hours of child care, small business, and leadership training. AcreFDCC prioritizes public policy advocacy, recognizing that convincing policymakers that microenterprise training and development can successfully be used as a self-sufficiency strategy for low-income women is vital to program success. Contact Anita Moeller, Acre Family Day Care Corporation, (978) 937-5899 or amoeller@acrefamily.org.