Market-driven Solutions to Need

Overview

PAN has launched programs delivering market-driven solutions to need that leverage the YPO / WPO network and its members’ business skills.

PAN created a Microfinance Forum to promote microfinance worldwide, and within YPO and WPO. In addition to pursuing “Only in YPO and WPO” microcredit programs, forum members support one another in their own microfinance efforts by sharing strategies, contacts and resources.

Microfinance

Microfinance, the powerful program of providing very small loans to the world's poorest entrepreneurs, is viewed by many as having great potential to help alleviate poverty worldwide.  PAN Chapter members Elizabeth Funk and Dick Simon formally launched PAN's efforts in microfinance by founding PAN's Microfinance Forum.

PAN’s Microcredit Forum visits Guadalajara, Mexico

Microfinance Forum has 3 goals. First is for members to support each other in their individual microcredit-related initiatives. Members give each other input, bounce around ideas, and use their contacts to make introductions. Second, Microfinance Forum often embarks on "forum projects"-- projects where a handful of members agree to work together, championed by one or two forum members. For instance Microfinance Forum has a YPO Global Youth Microcredit Fund that is designed to help YPO kids learn more about microcredit. Finally, Microfinance Forum a goal of educating more YPOers/WPOers about microcredit, through efforts such as hosting speakers and doing trips. As you can probably tell, it is not a traditional forum in the introspective sense-- it is an "action" forum designed to help each other on projects and make things happen!

Microfinance Forum meets in person twice per year. The group tries to hold meetings in a location and date that allows a specific microcredit "experience" in addition to the forum meetings. For example, Microfinance Forum tries to have half of its meetings in a developing country or a place where it is possible to see a microcredit program in action. The other half of the meetings are generally in North America and are held around the time of an interesting meeting, conference or other microcredit-related program. The first day of our meeting is generally learning-based: visiting a program, hearing speakers, etc. The second day consists of traditional forum-style meetings.

The group is comprised of both YPOers and WPOers, members and spouses. About one-third of the members are either working full-time in the industry or close to full-time. Another one-third are involved in one way or another-- working on a specific project. The final one-third are simply compelled by the idea and passionate enough to dedicate themselves to a forum to learn more and hopefully find a way to get involved.

Microfinance Forum has modified traditional forum norms in a couple of ways. First, while there is a "core" group of people who attend every meeting (or as many as possible) and are actively involved in the forum, the group is also open to having guests "test drive" the forum to see if it is a fit. Secondly, Microfinance Forum does not have the same confidentiality standards-- programs and projects can be discussed outside of the forum unless specified. This allows the group to have guests in the meetings, and to be an action-based forum with ongoing projects and non-YPOers (like microcredit organizations) involved in the work.