February 19, 1999
By Daniel Muñoz
On February 5, 1999, President
Clinton announced the winners of the 1998 Presidential Awards
in Microenterprise Development.
The awards reflect a commitment by President Clinton to advance the role that microenterprise development plays in enhancing economic opportunities of all Americans, especially those that lack access to traditional sources of credit such as women, low income people, and minorities.
"We come here not only to honor you (awardees) with these Presidential Awards for Excellence in Microenterprise, but to say to the world that these six organizations whose vision and commitment have made such a profound difference in the lives of the business owners, their employees and their customers are but a small beginning of what we could achieve together in the United States and throughout the world if we work harder to make the economy work for ordinary citizens," stated President Clinton.
The six organizations recognized were:
The Microcredit Industry Rural Organization was recognized for excellence in the category of Access to Capital. Since 1987, MICRO has provided some $5.5 million in loans to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs living in rural Arizona's poorest Hispanic communities;
Recognized for excellence in Developing Entrepreneurial Skills was the Detroit Entrepreneurship Institute. Founded at Wayne State University, the Institute has worked to teach low-income clients the full range of business skills;
For excellence in Developing Entrepreneurial Skills, the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund of Virginia, Minnesota. Serving rural communities throughout a 20,000 square mile area, the Fund offers one-on-one counseling to clients, helping them to tailor their studies to specific needs;
The Institute for Social and Economic Development of Iowa was recognized for excellence in Poverty Alleviation. The Institute was one of the earliest statewide microenterprise efforts in the nation. The Institute has helped 90 percent of its welfare clients free themselves from lives of dependency through self-employment;
The Corporation for Enterprise Development was recognized for excellence in private support for microenterprise development. For two decades -- through research, public advocacy and technical assistance to microenter-prise organizations;
The final recognition went to the Montana Microbusiness Finance Program for public support for microenterprise development. As part of the Montana Department of Commerce, this program has helped to launch or sustain a dozen microlending organizations serving communities throughout the state.
According to First Lady Hillary Clinton, "the origin of these awards goes back to the United Nations Fourth World conference on Women In Beijing (in 1995), when I pledged on behalf of the president and the administration a commitment to spread microenterprise and microlending through our nations; and also to have these awards, as well. We've now seen the fruits of that effort from one end of our country to the other."
Microenterprise development provides access to capital, other financial services, and training to those people traditionally bypassed by the mainstream financial sector. As the First Lady put it, "the power to transform welfare checks to paychecks, poverty to economic growth and income, despair to hope."
One example of the hope that microenterprise development brings to those bypassed can be found in the story Maria Jesus "Chuyita" Gaxiola:
Maria Jesus "Chuyita" Gaxiola was a migrant worker, widowed with two small daughters, barely surviving on her daughters' Social Security income and speaking no English when she first visited The Micro Industry Credit Rural Organization (MICRO), of Tucson, Arizona, in 1993.
She was nevertheless possessed of extraordinary drive and tenacity, and over the next several years participated in a series of programs at MICRO including ESL classes and training in basic business skills. From an initial microenterprise loan of $1,500, she was able to expand her cosmetics, jewelry and accessories business into a thriving entity which in 1998 brought in $60,000 with a net profit to Chuyita of $30,000.
Long a passionate interest of both President Clinton and the First Lady, microenter-prise has proven a powerful tool for empowering people, providing them the skills and credit they need to improve their own lives.
President Clinton's budget includes a 159-percent increase in support for domestic microenterprise programs, with a significant strengthening of the Administration's commitment for training and technical assistance -- an essential component on fully delivering the microenterprise promise.
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