ASVF I: Fall Update

A lot has happened over the summer! Our biggest news, however, is that the Investment Committee selected its first round of entrepreneurs. The $625 raised in May 2008 during ASVF I was invested with four entrepreneurs via the Kiva.org website. To decide who to fund, the Committee balanced the following factors:

• Target of four entrepreneurs
• Microenterprise organization with strong history in the region and ethical business practices
  (i.e. they don't charge too much interest)
• Geographical and sector diversity
• Lowest risk of default
  
• Repayment period between 8-13 months
• Size of loan and the ASVF's percentage of the total loan
  

The Committee strove to meet its fiduciary responsibility to the Anderson Community while also gauging the needs of the microentrepreneurs. While the Committee's goal was to fund four loans within the above parameters, timing played an important role in deciding the distribution of funds. For instance, the Committee felt Awawou was a compelling candidate, however, she needed only $25 more to fully fund her loan. On the other hand, we caught the Santa Marta Group earlier on in their fundraising cycle and gave them $225. Thus, the size of the loans in no way reflect the Committee's thoughts on the creditworthiness of the individual.

Please take a moment and learn about the lives Anderson has changed around the world!


Awawou Issaka: Togo (Agriculture) Awawou is 46 years old, married, and the mother of three. She lives and work in Adéta, a small village located about 150 km from Lomé, the Togolese capital. To earn money, she buys cola nuts and sells them retail. With the money from her second FECECAV loan, Ms. Issaka hopes to enlarge her business by buy nuts for retail sale abroad, especially in Niger. She will use the profits she is going to make from her business to better cover household expenses and school fees for her children. Loan Amount: $25.00



Helena Mensah: Ghana (Clothing Sales) Helena is a 40 year old business woman. She is a divorced mother with five children. She has been a single parent for seven years, and has to be very resourceful for her children. Two of the children have completed senior high school. Helen trades in clothing. She buys clothing materials at wholesale price and retails them to her customers. She wants to use the loan to include the sale of sponges and towels for additional income. She hopes to use part of her profit to support her children in school. She belongs to the community group called, ‘Nyame Nnae’ (meaning God is not asleep) Trust Group, where members assist one another to provide support in handling loan repayments. In case of default by a member, the other members contribute to make up the repayment amount. Loan Amount: $200.00



Santa Marta Group: Guatemala (Weaving)
The women from the Santa Marta community in San Juan, Lake Atitlan enjoy living in their town and prefer to work in groups. Group president Albertina Ujpan described their habits as, “tranquil, united and happy.” All of these women know each other and it is easy to sense that they enjoy being part of a team in which everyone pays back their loans as a group. The women dedicate themselves to a variety of micro-enterprises. Eight women weave - making hammocks, traditional guipil tops and shoulder bags. Three women resell clothing. The other two raise chickens to sell or butcher. Their buyers are intermediaries who sell items in Panajachel and other villages surrounding Lake Atitlan. When asked about their businesses, they had mixed feelings. Although sales are continuously growing, the sales were low this season. The winter months of December, January and February bring in much more profit than the rainy season of the spring months. ccording to Albertina Ujpan, the loans have helped a lot and have allowed them to invest in necessities for their businesses. This will ultimately lead to increased profits. She pointed out that sometimes the cycle of a business is interrupted when an unforeseen expense arises or sales are low. The loans help to keep the businesses stable. However, this cycle is broken when there’s a lack of microlenders. The loans support their business but more importantly support most of their dreams for the future: “the well-being of their families and the advancement of their childrens' education.” Loan Amount: $225.00



Sri Utami: Indonesia (Food Production/Sales) Sri Utami, 48 year old, lives with Nanang (husband) and Riski (son). Their son is 15 year old. Her husband works as a mechanic in a local motorcycle repair shop. They live in Prikila street in Denpasar, Bali. Sri Utami sells rice in her small stall. She goes to the local market every morning at 6 am to buy the ingredients. She cooks and prepares the rice for her stall as soon as she gets back from the market. She opens the stall at 8 am. She only sells few portions of rice, that's why the rice is usually sold out already by noon time. She wants to use the loan money to expand her business. Loan Amount: $175.00

ASVF I Fundraising Round Successfully Completed!

Anderson Social Venture Fund raised over $600 in under two weeks from the Anderson Community. Members of the Anderson Community were each asked to contribute $1 or $2. To our amazement, almost 60% of the Class of 2009 participated. We also had strong participation from staff, faculty, and alumni.

The ASVF Investment Committee met on June 28th and identified three entrepreneurs to invest in based on several investment criteria. For details on the selection criteria and investment choices, please see the next post.

We are excited to kick off this innovative program and look forward to growing it over the next year! Thank you to all our contributors and supporters.

How $2 can make a Difference: The Anderson Social Venture Fund

The Anderson Social Venture Fund (ASVF) strives to harness the intellectual and financial capital of the Anderson community to make strategic investments in non-profit and for-profit socially-conscious organizations in the LA region and abroad. Not only will ASVF make equity investments or low-or no-interest loans, but the Anderson Community will provide additional value to portfolio organizations through short-term consulting engagements, board participation, and access to our academic resources.

Many in the Anderson Community have stepped up to the plate to help us launch ASVF. The EA has agreed to incubate ASVF during its first round and Prof. Bhagwan Chowdhry will be serving as a faculty advisor.

The mission of ASVF’s first investment round, ASVF I, is to fund several micro loans that will make an impact abroad while raising internal awareness about the fund among the Anderson community. Our initial ask is $1 or $2 from everyone in this community, with a goal of raising $2,000. While $2,000 is far too small an investment to make an impact in a domestic venture, this sum will go long way to create impact in the developing world. Future rounds will seek additional funding through larger donations and alumni matches. Several alumni have already expressed interest in the fund.

We will be investing ASVF I through Kiva.org, a microfinance intermediary, which will streamline the funding process. Through this system, we can make low-risk loans to individual entrepreneurs who we can track via Kiva’s periodic updates. The loans will be repaid within 12 months and folded into a future round. Our priority is to target an entrepreneur such as Dr. Joseph Owola who sought $1,200 in financing to expand his medical clinic in Bungoma, Kenya.

Our goal for ASVF is to make equity and low interest loan investments of over $25,000 in Los Angeles area social ventures and nonprofits in addition to smaller global investments. By leveraging the financial and intellectual capital and entrepreneurial spirit of the Anderson Community we will expand the social impact of these organizations. The ASVF could be a valuable contribution to UCLA Chancellor Block’s new Institute for Los Angeles, which will use the vast resources of UCLA to work to identify and fix a major problem of the Los Angeles region.

Please help us launch ASVF by donating $1 or $2 to a representative or at our table in the courtyard during lunch the week of May 26th-May 30th. Checks can be made out to Entrepreneurs Association. We are also seeking two additional student members for ASVF I’s Investment Committee. Contact Amanda Sabicer, Juan Matute, or Matt Craig for more information.