Mission Statement

The purpose of Micro Investment Initiative Incorporated (Mi3) is to support entrepreneurial endeavors in developing countries through direct microfinance loans and community development. This assistance helps individuals achieve financial self-sufficiency, which in turn spurs sustainable economic growth in their local communities. Mi3 provides people the opportunity to improve their living conditions while contributing towards the greater goal of alleviating world poverty.

What is Microfinance?

Microfinance involves making very small loans (typically as small as $300) to individuals in developing countries who do not have access to traditional forms of credit. The loans fund entrepreneurial initiatives, such as the purchase of a bicycle for an aspiring delivery boy in Indonesia or a brood of chickens for a farmer’s egg-selling business. These tiny investments can yield dramatic results.

Loans are repaid with interest, adding to a growing pool of capital available for lending. Historically, microcredit loans have had a lower default rate than those of traditional banks. These loans are crucial in giving people around the globe a chance to improve their lives.

What makes microfinance and Mi3 different from other charitable organizations?

- Microfinance gives motivated individuals the tools to pull themselves out of poverty.

Mi3 makes small, direct loans to individuals with astounding results. For instance, in our first initiative went a young Indonesian woman $300 to rent computers for her fledgling home business. Within a few weeks of receiving our loan, this teenager had quadrupled her family’s income (see our video online to learn more about this amazing story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ags_fvb7ufs)! The changes that microfinance makes possible are immediate, and the results can last a lifetime.

- Microfinance and Mi3 produce sustainable results.

Unlike aid which is quickly expended, microfinance loans support local economic development long after the loan has been repaid. Whereas donated rations may feed a family for a week, the milk from a microfinanced cow can provide a family with years’ worth of nourishment. Extra milk can be sold to provide a much-needed source of income, which can be used to purchase additional cows, eventually leading to financial stability. With a secure source of income, children can be sent to school, accruing benefits to the next generation. Microfinance helps plant the seeds of self-sufficiency by empowering people to help themselves.

As loans are repaid, the funds are poured back into Mi3, providing capital for additional loans. Thus, money raised by Mi3 can be used again and again, to help developing world entrepreneurs indefinitely.

- Mi3 volunteers learn valuable skills while helping others.

Mi3 raises funds through student-run entrepreneurial initiatives. In the process, members learn valuable real-world business and marketing skills, while experiencing the satisfaction that comes from helping others. The experience gained from working with Mi3 can be applied to both life and business long after they finish their work with the organization.

The History of Mi3.

Micro Investment Initiative Inc. (Mi3) began as a high school club dedicated to microfinance. In its first year, the members of Mi3 developed a business plan to generate an initial pool of capital. Mi3 members perceived a student demand for a quick, portable breakfast at Phillips Academy Andover and organized a weekly bake sale. They negotiated a bulk-rate discount with a local vendor, recruited sales staff, created an advertising campaign and developed a financial record-keeping system. By the end of the school year, the club had raised nearly one thousand dollars to make microfinance loans, while at the same time filling a student demand on campus.
Partnering with a high school in Indonesia to provide three promising graduates wit seed money to fulfill their dreams of success, Mi3 helped two young women used their loans to rent computers to create and print brochures for their home businesses. A third loan helped young man train for a job on a cruise ship. Within a few months, these three ambitious high school graduates were earning four to five times as much as their parents as a result of their microfinance loans. All three recipients have paid back their loans, with interest, on schedule. The founders recognized the positive impact that the club made and decided to expand its potential.
As a result, Micro Investment Initiative Inc. was officially incorporated as a student-run nonprofit organization on January 2nd, 2009 with the purpose of providing individuals in developing countries with microfinance loans. Micro Investment Initiative Inc. currently is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit with chapters and initiatives run from high schools and universities spanning the globe.

In its founding year, Micro Investment Initiative Inc.’s first chapter funded three entrepreneurs and their dreams.
Help us help them.
Establish your own Micro Investment Initiative Chapter.

How you can help?

In its founding year, Mi3 helped three young entrepreneurs acquire the capital for three initiatives, setting their families on the path to financial stability and making their dreams into a reality. This was with only $900 dollars. The following year the same chapter raise over five times that amount. Imagine what Mi3 can do with your help! Mi3 is looking for energetic, ambitious, entrepreneurial-minded students who want to start their own initiatives and contribute on a national scale to international cause. If you want to make a difference, contact us with the information below, and we’ll get you started!

To Contact Us:

Email: jyangsammataro@microinvestmentintiative.org

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