Microenterprise development programs typically provide loans and technical assistance to the self-employed and to entrepreneurs with fewer than five employees. Often the technical assistance focuses on building financial literacy and then helping participants develop business management skills. Programs range from statewide programs (such as Nebraska’s Rural Enterprise Assistance Project operating since 1990) to regional programs (such as the Mountain Microenterprise program operating in a rural part of western North Carolina).
Check the following sites to learn more about microenterprise development programs:
• www.mtnmicro.org
• www.cfra.org/reap
• Association for Enterprise Opportunity
• Microenterprise Development in the U.S.: An Overview
