MFI Connect: Student Microfinance Forum

Written by Chris Temple, MFI Connect Founder...

I wholeheartedly believe that students hold enormous potential to
initiate change in this world. Students are optimistic, eager, and dedicated free-thinkers. The question is how to harness their fiery passions? How to transform their potential into tangible actions that bring an end to global injustices, such as world poverty?

The microfinance buzz has not only spread amongst the business
world; it has also infiltrated university campuses in the form of student clubs, fundraisers, and in some rare cases classes. Its revolutionary tenant of providing credit as a human right, regardless of available credit history or collateral, has ignited the
interests of today's youth. The question becomes how to empower student microfinance initiatives to maximize their impact and to prepare students for thought-full, productive careers in the industry?

A team of seven students, including myself, have created an online 
microfinance network, MFI Connect (www.MFIConnect.com), to
unite these disparate student initiatives and to provide accessible information, discussion, and opportunities. Currently the largest network of its kind, we bring together over eight-hundred members, including students from more than forty universities. More specifically, we engage our members by providing microfinance education courses, innovative fundraising and awareness campaigns, in-field exposure programs, groundbreaking discussion, and access to competitive job opportunities. MFI Connect is hoping to build on this momentum to make a lasting impact on the microfinance industry. Please join the movement at www.MFIConnect.com or e-mail christemple8@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.