It wasn’t difficult for the roughly 700 audience members to follow the collective story that was told by the four entrepreneurs participating in the Microfinance USA 2010 opening plenary. Maria Shriver, First Lady of California, Premal Shah of Kiva, and two local Kiva borrowers (Mandy and Erik) each told a story about pursuing an idea or a dream—although each certainly went in a separate direction—engouraging others to do the same.
A few key messages were part of their story:
- Partnership: This theme was discussed multiple times at Microfinance USA 2010 and it was the first topic of conversation during the opening plenary. Premal Shah began the panel recounting the partnership that began two years ago when Maria Shriver first visited Kiva. At the visit in Kiva’s office Maria simply asked Premal, “why not [microfinance] in our own backyard?” Two years later, Premal, Maria, and two U.S. microentrepreneurs funded through Kiva and U.S. field partner Opportunity Fund are talking about the success of that partnership.
- Communication: Maria’s experience as a journalist and her effort communicating the cause of U.S. microfinance is one of the biggest strengths she brings to the movement. She emphatically reminded the audience of the importance of communicating the microfinance story. She emphasized the importance of keeping the message simple and straightforward.
- Community: The entrepreneurs brought to light the real value of their struggles to access capital when they were starting their businesses, and told the audience their definition of “community” –the interdependence that encourages them to better themselves, their business, and society.
The panelists’ stories will keep evolving, but what they all agreed on is the urgency to share the microfinance message. In the words of Premal, if something “doesn’t work that means that you’ve gotten to the next starting point.” U.S. Microfinance, even after decades of work is still at a starting point— partnerships, communication, and community will help us see where we can take the microfinance movement, together.
Maria Shriver started the Women’s Conference to empower women to be Architects of Change in their homes, their workplaces, their communities and the world around them. Maria has been especially dedicated to empowering woman through entrepreneurship. Her conversation publicly and with organizations like Kiva, ACCION USA, and Opportunity Fund are helping to bring greater awareness to the cause.
Erica Dorn is the Volunteer Partnerships Manager at ACCION USA. Her work is targeted at bringing financial access to microentrepreneurs in the United States by harnessing the leadership of students. She served as the first domestic Kiva Fellow. Find her on twitter @eldorn.