Micro-Enterprise Development: A Response to Poverty

Summary

All over the world, micro-enterprise development initiatives are demonstrating that they are a viable response to poverty. This paper discusses a field study of 40 slum-dwellers, 17 of whom had taken out a loan for a micro-enterprise, conducted in Calcutta in 1995. This study helps demonstrate the crucial elements of the Gra-meen model of micro-lending. Findings show there is a significant difference in income of borrowers versus non-borrowers, and that micro-enterprises create a culture that has rippling effects on the community. Lessons learned are relevant for social workers promoting micro-enterprises for community economic development in the United States.