U.S. microenterprise programs provide business training, small amounts of credit ($35,000 or less), or both to businesses with five or fewer employees. As the microenterprise field nears the end of its second decade in the United States, experts and practitioners agree that the field is in a difficult place; there appears to be relatively widespread agreement on the nature of the problems, which include a lack of standardized data, decreasing funding from some key sectors, increased competition, and difficulty in reaching the target market. The author argues that if the microenterprise field does not make some significant changes, it will neither sustain itself nor approach its potential. Strategies to address these challenges fall into three broad categories: restructuring, innovation, and accreditation and standardization.
Abzug, R., & Watson, M. R. (2003, October). Crafting performance standards around processes, people, and outcomes: Lessons from for-profit and nonprofit sectors for faith-based nonprofits. Paper prepared for working conference on Outcome-Evaluation Requirements and Methods Appropriate for Faith-Based and Other Programs of Social Service, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
2.
Association for Enterprise Opportunity. (2002). National microenterprise strategy: Capturing the promise of microenterprise development in the United States. Arlington, VA: Author.
3.
Association for Enterprise Opportunity. (n.d.). National microenterprise standards and accreditation project. Retrieved November 4, 2004, from http://www.microenterpriseworks.org
4.
Association for Enterprise Opportunity. (n.d.). Draft numerical performance standards for the microenterprise industry. Retrieved November 4, 2004, from http://www.microenterpriseworks.org/projects/msap/draft-standards.htm
5.
Bates, T. (1995). Why do minority business development programs generate so little minority business development?Economic Development Quarterly, 9, 3-14.
6.
Bates, T. (1996). The financial capital needs of Black-owned businesses. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 1(1), 1-15.
7.
Bhatt, N., & Tang, S. (2001). Making microcredit work in the United States: Social, financial, and administrative dimensions. Economic Development Quarterly, 15, 229-241.
8.
Black, J., Edgcomb, E., Klein, J., Thetford, T., & Casoni, L. (2003). A measure of the microenterprise industry: A report from MicroTest. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
9.
Black, J., Thetford, T., Edgcomb, E., & Klein, J. (2002). For good measure: Performance of the U.S. microenterprise industry. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
10.
Bradley, B., Jansen, P., & Silverman, L. (2003). The nonprofit sector’s $100 billion opportunity. Harvard Business Review, 81(5), 128-129.
11.
Carr, J. H., & Kolluri, L. (2001). Predatory lending: An overview. Washington, DC: Fannie Mae Foundation.
12.
Carr, J. H., & Schuetz, J. (2001). Financial services in distressed communities: Issues and answers. Washington, DC: Fannie Mae Foundation.
13.
Clark, P., Kays, A., Zandniapour, L., Soto, E., & Doyle, K. (1999). Microenterprise and the poor: Findings from the Self-Employment Learning Project. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
14.
Cook, R. G., Belliveau, P., & VonSeggern, K. L. (2001). A case study of microenterprise training: Beta test findings and suggestions for improvement. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 6(3), 255-267.
15.
Edgcomb, E. L. (2002). Scaling up microenterprise services. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
16.
Edgcomb, E. L., & Klein, J. A. (2005). Opening opportunities, building ownership: Fulfilling the promise of microenterprise in the United States. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute Fund for Innovation, Evaluation, Learning and Dissemination.
17.
Ehlers, T. B., & Main, K. (1998). Women and the false promise of microenterprise. Gender and Society, 12(4), 424-440.
18.
Else, J. F. (2001). Microenterprise development in the US: Is there a case for public support?Geneva: International Labour Organization. (Available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/finance/download/us1.pdf)
19.
Klein, J. A., Alisultanov, I., & Blair, A. K. (2003). Microenterprise as a welfare to work strategy: Two-year findings. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
20.
Lehr, M. B. (1998). Best practices for CDFIs: Key principles for performance. Philadelphia, PA: National Community Capital Association.
21.
Lichtenstein, G. A., & Lyons, T. S. (2001). The entrepreneurial development system: Transforming business talent and community economies. Economic Development Quarterly, 15, 3-20.
22.
McVay, M., & Hirschland, M. (2000). Making the connection: Appalachian Center for Economic Networks. Access to Markets Case Study Series/No. 1. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
23.
Moy, K., & Okagaki, A. (2001). Changing capital markets and their implications for community development finance. Washington DC: Brookings Institution.
24.
Piore, M. J., & Sabel, C. F. (1986). The second industrial divide: Possibilities for prosperity. New York: Basic Books.
25.
Raheim, S. (1997). Problems and prospects of self-employment as an economic independence option for welfare recipients. Social Work, 42(1), 44-53.
26.
Raheim, S., & Alter, C. F. (1995). Self-employment investment demonstration final evaluation report, Part I: Participant Survey. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa School of Social Work.
27.
Ratliff, G., Moy, K., Casoni, L., Davidson, S., Mahon, C., & Mendez, F. (2003). New pathways to scale for community development finance (Review Draft, November). Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
28.
Rowe, B. R., Haynes, G. W., & Stafford, K. (1999). The contribution of home-based business income to rural and urban economies. Economic Development Quarterly, 13, 66-77.
29.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. (2004). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
30.
Schreiner, M. (1998). Self-employment, microenterprise, and the poorest. Social Service Review, 73(4), 496-523.
31.
Servon, L. J. (1997). Microenterprise programs in U.S. inner cities: Economic development or social welfare?Economic Development Quarterly, 11, 166-180.
32.
Servon, L. J. (1999). Bootstrap capital: Microenterprises and the American poor. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
33.
Servon, L. J., & Bates, T. (1998). Microenterprise as an exit route from poverty: Recommendations for programs and policy makers. Journal of Urban Affairs, 20(4), 419-441.
34.
Servon, L. J., & Doshna, J. P. (2000). Microenterprise and the economic development toolkit: A small part of the big picture. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 5(3), 183-208.
35.
Sherraden, M. S., Sanders, C. K., & Sherraden, M. (2004). Kitchen capitalism: Microenterprise in low-income households. Albany: State University of New York Press.
36.
Spalter-Roth, R., Soto, E., & Zandniapour, L. (1994). Microenterprise and women: The viability of self-employment as a strategy for alleviating poverty. Washington, DC: Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
37.
Walker, B. A., & Blair, A. K. (2002). 2002 Directory of U.S. Microenterprise Programs. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
38.
Wright, G. A. N. (n.d.). Beyond basic credit and savings: Developing new financial service products for the poor. Retrieved August 19, 2004, from http://www.gdrc.org/icm/ppp/buro-0.html
