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MicroLending Academy Newsletter: Commitment to Scale

The MLA newsletter is chock-a-block with articles, resources, technology, success stories, interviews, and big picture ideas on all Lending Academy features. This edition focuses on capacity building and lists several opportunities for training, whether they be peer calls, webinars or tools you can use.In this Issue… Success Story:  Opportunity Fund, A Commitment to Scale A

Micro Lending Academy: Balance Sheet Basics

This webinar, the first of a two-part series, will be an introduction to Balance Sheets accounts, what they mean and how they work together. We have a fun exercise (you can use it in your classes!) that demonstrates how the Balance Sheet changes with each business transaction.

A Banker’s Perspective: Fred Mendez of Union Bank

Fred Mendez, long known as a champion of micro business development and lending in California, recently assumed the position of Managing Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Americas for MUFG Union Bank, NA. Previous to taking on this exciting new role, Fred ran the Community Development program for Rabobank for 8 years, creating a

Opportunity Fund, A Commitment To Scale

Thanks to Susan Brown, CAMEO’s microloan consultant for this post. For Opportunity Fund, the desire for meaningful community impact means a commitment to scale. They close 1,500 loans per year, adding up to $26.5 million. To date, they have lent $100 million to 4,000 clients who have a median income of $28,000. They close about