Page 2 - Microfinance Fund - Eric C. Douglass Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies

IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD
A VISIONARY
roughout visits to several developing countries, an anonymous donor was deeply a ected by the true despair that comes hand-in-hand with abject poverty. In 2010, he decided to do something about it. Believing in the power of micro business, he made a generous donation to the Eric C. Douglass Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies at Royal Roads University, establishing the rst Micro Business Catalyst Fund. Royal Roads University students and the Eric C. Douglass Centre embraced this exciting opportunity and created a three-part template for the administration of the fund:
1. ey created a world-wide Micro Business Ideas Competition. News about the competition was spread around the globe to anyone who had a small business idea for villagers in Tanzania, including a website viewed by people in 25 countries.
2. e best ideas were identi ed and taken to the
community to discuss and assess their feasibility.
Micro business borrowers, lenders and local leaders ultimately chose the three best concepts with the greatest promise. e group chose Moshi, on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, as the area for the alleviation of poverty.
3. ree Royal Roads University alumni volunteered to become Micro Business Catalyst Fellows “on the ground” in Moshi. Bringing seed capital, a new perspective and speci c business expertise to the eld for 100 days, these young business leaders worked with local villagers, transforming the three micro business ideas into genuine income-generating ventures. A er the 100 days, the village entrepreneurs continue to run their venture.
“For me, what’s exciting about these ventures is their potential to generate employment and, at the same time, create re-investable wealth.”
Anonymous Donor
MONgOlIA PHOTO: CHARlES KRuSEKOPF