Paving a New Road To Change

Friday, May 11th, 2007

Posted on the Burnaby Now - April 10th 2007

Local resident part of ride to Mexico to support project

By Erin Hitchcock
Staff Reporter

Entrepreneurs in developing countries are receiving a little help with their businesses, thanks to microcredit loans.

On May 3, more than 20 people will ride their bikes from Vancouver to Tijuana, Mexico to raise money and awareness for entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Christina Wu, a Burnaby resident and director of media and communications for Agents of Change, will be among the riders who will travel the 3,000-kilometre journey.

Agents of Change, a nonprofit registered charity, hopes to raise $1 million from the challenge to connect those living in poverty with microcredit - small, interest-free loans.

The loans are to help entrepreneurs in developing countries by helping to get them out of poverty.

“They’re small, trust-based loans,” said Wu, a Simon Fraser University business marketing student.

The loans can be a minimum of $25 to help people get back on their feet and run a business, she said.

“Some entrepreneurs require a loan more than that,” she said. “It really depends on their need and their business.”

Many of the loan requests can be for as much as or more than $1,000, but that amount can come from multiple donors.

Wu, 23, said that, for example, a woman who runs a produce stand in a developing country may need five dollars to buy a box of apples to sell.

She could receive a microcredit loan, which would allow her to run her business. She would then pay that money back, interest free.

“It’s not really a form of charity. We’re not giving them a handout.”

The amount repaid can then go to help other individuals and families, so five dollars could help not just one entrepreneur but many as the money can be used over and over.

“It will go back into the fund and be re-lent again.”

Wu heard about Agents of Change through Sean Peters, an SFU student and the organization’s director of sponsorship and community partners, who asked her if she would be interested in riding.

“I thought he was crazy at first,” she said. “Since then, I’ve decided to join the crew.”

The organization is raising awareness about how microcredit can help families escape poverty, with help from its partner organization, Kiva.

Kiva, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, provides loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Agents of Change, which has so far raised more than $8,000 for microcredit, is trying to raise the million dollar fund so people in developing countries can be provided with loans through Kiva.

Kiva’s website provides a platform for borrowers to post their stories, pictures, business goals and needs. Supporters can view the profiles and get a choice of who they would like to support, as well as receive information on the borrowers’ progress and how the money is being used.

Through Kiva, lenders receive their money back after the loan is repaid, but that money can also be used again to help another entrepreneur.

The million dollar fund through Agents of Change, however, isn’t refundable as it’s being set up to be used as a constant source of funding for Kiva.

Kiva’s website includes a request from one woman, for example, who lives in Kenya and is asking for a $600 loan for her secondhand clothing store. So far, $350 has been raised for her.

Through Kiva, the businesses are screened by recognized local microfinance partners. All of the funds go directly to the borrower.

So far, Kiva’s repayment rate is estimated to be 97 per cent successful.

“They are the ones who have links to other organizations on the ground. Kiva is a non-profit who helps distribute the loans,” Wu said, adding that it’s been around for a couple of years.

Together, the organizations are raising funds through worldwide pledges and fundraising events in cities such as Vancouver, Halifax, Montreal, Seattle and San Francisco.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and is the inspiration behind the cause, founded the microcredit bank, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.

At the 2006 Global Microcredit Summit, Yunus - appearing before 2,000 representatives of 100 countries in Halifax about global poverty issues - called for creating a peaceful world by ending poverty.

He said that access to credit is a key problem across all countries - both developed and developing, the release said.

Agents of Change was founded in October by Shawn Smith, president, and his cousin Bronwyn Cass, director of events and fundraiser, who found others to join the cause.

“It was a friend telling a friend,” Wu said. “Now it’s grown to roughly 23 riders making the journey to Tijuana, Mexico.”

Wu has persuaded some of her friends to join the ride, and they are all getting ready for the challenge by cycling in training runs at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver.

“The majority of our bike riders don’t have much experience with bike riding,” she said. “We’ve all been doing a bit of biking.”

Wu also is getting ready by cycling from Commercial Drive to her home in Burnaby.

Although founded in October, Agents of Change wasn’t launched until February with Changing Gears, a silent auction that raised more than $4,000 for microcredit.

The silent auction included items donated from local businesses such as Starbucks, paintings by local artists and even a hockey stick signed by the Vancouver Canucks.

Wu said the cost of the trip to Mexico comes out of the pockets of the riders, so any financial support for the fundraiser would also be appreciated. She noted, however, that people can choose to provide financial support directly to the organization to be used for microcredit.

“We’re always looking for financial and in-kind support.”

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