A Potential Future Project
Microenterprise Network?
An enterprise in it early stages of life begins with an idea. The idea may grow rapidly into a flourishing enterprise employing staff and producing profit for it owner. The skills and knowledge needed to establish a microenterprise are quite different from those needed for growing an established business.
There are a number of stages that enterprises move through before achieving business success:
Income generating idea (little employment but lots of activity)
Microenterprise (no full time employment, part time maybe, casual definitely)
Self employment (fulltime employment for one)
Micro business (fulltime employment for between one and five)
Small business (fulltime employment for more than five)
As the idea grows so do the needs for the enterprise by way of bookkeeping, production processes and marketing. The skills of the owner of the idea need to be concurrently developed.
The owner of the idea wears many hats as the champion, driver and implementer and needs to be comfortable dealing with people, proficient in production and capable of managing finances (both personal and business) – understanding the need for record keeping, know how to do a bank reconciliation, be able to manage cashflow.
There is always the need for a plan - a business plan - but it needs to be appropriate to where your “business” is really at and how you want to grow it. If you consider your "business" is at the stage of being between an income generating idea and a microenterprise you may find it useful to reconsider your "business" and plan in that light and take the pressure off “going into business” and enjoy the experimentation and the journey of discovery more.
A microenterprise is can be described as an income generating activity, paralleling a hobby with the potential to grow.
Consider the skills,knowledge and experience that are required when moving from unemployment or being out of the workforce, working part time or casually, being self employed, employing others, to becoming a growth business.
The purpose of our microenterprise network is to facilitate the growth of these actitivities by networking, providing links, access to skills and advice and access to micro credit/loans.
International Microenterprise
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Elements |
Links |
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United States
The business model |
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United Nations
The enterprise model |
Mainly in used in developing countries. Best example is a woman takes out a loan guaranteed by family, friends and neighbours to buy a cow and a sheep. She looks after both animals. The cow produces milk which she turns into butter and cheese which she sells. The sheep produces wool and she weaves the wool into yarn and makes clothes and rugs which she sells. Both animals have offspring. Some she keeps some she sells. The process is a slow one - but then good things take time.
Examples
Individually handcrafted leather footwear from Athani, a remote village in the State of Karnataka, India, located about 720 kms from Bangalore. Traditionally, known as Kolhapuris these footwear hadcrafted from natural leather is a product of labour of an entire family - men preparing the bottom soles and women crafting the inner sole and decorative uppers. The women have formed their own self help groups.
ToeHold is artisans' own signature providing stamp of quality. |
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New Zealand
What model? |
Hard to find references to microenterprise in New Zealand such as are available for the US and the UN.
Some clusters being developed have the hallmarks of being based on microenterprise.
New Zealand is described as a nation of small business but small business has been described as an enterprise employing more than 5 people up to (pick your own figure).
Micro businesses employ less than five.
20% of enterprises are the self employed. It is estimated there are over 200,000 home based businesses in New Zealand.
Farmers are often excluded from discussion on SME's in NZ as they are considered insignificant even though there are over 14,000 of them each with assets of over $1 million.
Personal and Business services are often excluded even though that is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.
In summary, there is very littleinformation available on new start ups - on microenterprises. |
Check out...
Methodist Employment |
Irrespective of definition, a person with an idea for a microenterprise needs to be able to find support for themselves, their idea, their skills and perhaps some money.
What we are seeking are...
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people with ideas - microentrepreneurs, champions, drivers - people with a fire in their belly to do something to generate an little extra income for themselves or their household
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people with skills to facilitate, mentor and support these microentrepreneurs
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people with some spare money who wish to support these microentrepreneurs financially through loans, guarantors, gifts or equity investment
There are many resources for small business development that might be useful in the development of micro-enterprise initiatives. These resources are usually government funded and are focussed on growing an established business rather than facilitating a new idea.
We need to develop our own resources in our own community in the place where we live. The East Coast Community Development Trust has started a Community Asset Register which list people with ideas, people with skills, organisations with resources and the services they provide. As you find these people or organisations refer them to www.eccdt.net.nz
Useful Links
Inland Revenue Department http://www.ird.govt.nz/When does a hobby become a business? - "You are probably operating a business if you charge other people for the goods/services you produce, you supply your goods/services on a regular basis and you intend to make a profit form supplying your goods/services." Social Entrepreneurs Network is a mutual learning and support network for people who are thinking and acting entrepreneurially in strengthening communities and creating wealth for all, especially those who are disadvantaged. http://www.sen.org.au/
The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand http://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/
Wellington City Library - Small Business Resources http://www.wcl.govt.nz/popular/businesssmall.html
Microenterprise Innovation Project - USAID http://www.mip.org/
The Microenterprise Innovation Project is the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) initiative to support technical and financial assistance, research and training on best practices in microenterprise development and finance. The components of USAID's microenterprise program are: Microenterprise Best Practices (MBP); Assessing Impact of Microenterprise Services (AIMS); Implementation Grant Program (IGP): Technical Assistance to USAID Missions (MicroServe); and Program for Innovation in Microenterprise (PRIME Fund).
Beyond Microenterprise: Growing Businesses in Low Income communities : Conference Recap http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/entre/2001_cfc.pdf
Background of one of the presenters Daniel Monti -
"Ethnic groups will lead efforts to turn areas of urban blight into thriving neighborhoods," predicts Daniel Monti, CAS professor of sociology and author of "The American City: A Social and Cultural History."
http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2000/01-07/features1.html
http://www.bu.edu/sociology/faculty/fulltime/monti.html
Juan Evereteze of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development andother presenter
MIT Aids in Technology Outreach http://www-tech.mit.edu/V120/N46/46roxbury.46n.html
The Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/
Pioneer Institute, Massachusetts’ leading think tank, promotes research that challenges the "conventional wisdom" on public policy issues. Committed to individual freedom and responsibility, limited and accountable government, and the application of free market principles to state and local policy, Pioneer is known for developing sensible, innovative ideas and converting them into action.
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
ICIC has interrelated programs that address the essential requirements for vibrant inner-city companies and healthy economies ( Michael Porter) http://www.icic.org/programs/programs.asp
ICIC Back Streets program http://www.icic.org/media/News_BostonMayor.asp
University of Massachusetts
Economic Development and Inner Cities in Massachusetts: Recommendations for expanding the capacity of small businesses and microenterprises
http://www.umb.edu/...
Center for Childhood and Family Research (CENDIF) was one of 34 winners of The World Bank Development Marketplace Competition in January 2002. The CENDIF project "Training in Microenterprise: An Alternative for Women in Prison" is described here http://www.childwatch.uio.no/news/activities/
New Zealand References to Microenterprise
Associate Professor Anne de Bruin, Massey University http://lmd.massey.ac.nz/profiles/deBruin.shtmlNotably - WOMEN AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: RATIONALE FOR MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT http://www2.auckland.ac.nz/apec/papers/Bruin.html of note is her plea for "definition and separation of microenterprises from the overall category of SMEs. Being lumped together with SMEs (often a footnote is included in the literature to the effect that SMEs include microenterprises), does not give due recognition to the importance of micro businesses as a means of poverty alleviation and the need for distinct policy action to promote these enterprises. Once microenterprises are defined as a distinct category, a definite course of action for fostering women's microenterprises must be thought through and implemented." Research outputs http://sme-centre.massey.ac.nz/staff.asp?staff_discipline_id=1060508100&staff_id=1060
Check out other current research publications http://lmd.massey.ac.nz/publications.shtml
Tear Fund http://www.tearfund.org.nz/
TEARfund NZ is a Christian Relief and Development Agency, supporting Child Sponsorship, Community Development & Microenterprise projects.
New Zealand Centre for Small and Medium Enterprise Research = Staff
http://sme-centre.massey.ac.nz/staff_list.asp
Email
with your comments on what you would like to see here. |
