GreenMicrofinancing

Micro-Loans, Macro-Impact!  A conference hosted at the University of Illinois on 4 October by the National Organization for Business and Engineering (NOBE) and Entreprenuers without Borders, provided an opportunity for students to learn about microfinance and how in practical terms, it is impacting people in developing countries around the world. 

 We discussed Haiti and their 200 year descent from the wealthiest country in the French Empire to the the poorest in the western hemisphere, racked with poverty and environmenal devastation.  We talked about possible solutions to the poverty and envirnomental devastation, including the replication of the Grameen Bank Village Phone program, FonkoSel Aktive pa Digicel and the Jatropha Pepinye; a nursery to help local growers plant jatropha curcas for feedstock for biodiesel. 

The high level of interest and the depth of questioning from the participants was a very heartening experience!