MicroPlace Launches Investment Website to Address Global Poverty.New Service Allows U.S. Consumers to Invest in Microfinance with as Little as $100 SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif. -- MicroPlace, a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :EBAY), today announced the launch of a new website (www.microplace.com) that provides an easy way for everyday people to invest in the world's working poor by leveraging the power of microfinance, a proven solution to alleviate global poverty. With the launch of MicroPlace.com, for the first time, consumers in the U.S. can use the internet to make microfinance investments that can provide a financial return while also addressing global poverty. Additionally, MicroPlace's unique business model was designed to create a self-sustaining marketplace to serve as an efficient and scalable way for capital to flow into the microfinance industry. "In the past, microfinance investing has generally been pursued by large financial institutions or high-net-worth individuals, and has been less accessible for most people," said Tracey Pettengill Turner, Founder and General Manager of MicroPlace. "MicroPlace now offers an easy way for the everyday investor to participate in microfinance; the opportunity to receive a return on their investment; and empower empower verb To encourage or provide a person with the means or information to become involved in solving his/her own problems the world's working poor to lift themselves from poverty." Through MicroPlace's secure platform, everyday people can purchase investments - for as little as $100 - from microfinance security issuers. MicroPlace also enables investors to direct the impact of their investment to a specific country and microfinance institution in the developing world. The microfinance institutions use the funds to make small loans to the working poor, who in turn use the loans to start or expand small businesses and lift themselves out of poverty. At launch, MicroPlace will offer the ability to direct investments to Africa, Eurasia, Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. . Individuals can visit www.microplace.com to research investment opportunities, make investments, and learn more about microfinance and global poverty. Investments can be purchased using PayPal or a checking account at a U.S. bank. As a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA FINRA Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly Securities Industry Regulatory Authority) (formerly NASD NASD See: National Association of Securities Dealers NASD See National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). ), MicroPlace is currently the only broker-dealer specializing in microfinance securities for retail investors Retail Investor Individual investors who buy and sell securities for their personal account, and not for another company or organization. Notes: Retail investors buy in much smaller quantities than larger institutional investors. . Working with an industry-leading security issuer MicroPlace has selected Calvert Social Investment Foundation - a leader in community investment that manages investments for over 2,500 individuals and institutions seeking to support communities around the world through their portfolios - as the first issuer to sell investments on MicroPlace. Calvert Foundation Organization Information Calvert Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization specializing in Community Investment, and has operated for over ten years. Calvert Foundation utilizes investment capital, rather than conventional philanthropy, to create a model that enables will use the funds generated from the sale of securities on MicroPlace to invest in the specific fund selected by individual investors. Calvert Foundation will also be responsible for making interest and principal payments to investors. "Calvert Foundation has been working hard for over 10 years to mobilize mo·bi·lize v. 1. To make mobile or capable of movement. 2. To restore the power of motion to a joint. 3. To release into the body, as glycogen from the liver. individual investor capital to support microfinance," said Shari Berenbach, executive director of Calvert Foundation. "Working with MicroPlace gives us the opportunity to offer microfinance investments for as little as $100 for the first time. We believe this will enable more individuals to invest in microfinance and help grow the industry as a whole to significantly improve the lives of the working poor around the world." Understanding the demand and power of microfinance Microfinance is the provision of financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. to the working poor, primarily in developing countries. Widely recognized as an effective tool against poverty, the most common microfinance service is the provision of small loans - often as low as $50 - to assist the working poor in their efforts to lift themselves from poverty through their own hard work and entrepreneurial spirit. Today, 1.3 billion of the world's working poor live below the international poverty line, earning less than U.S. $2 a day1. Since the inception of microfinance in 1974, more than 100 million people - the majority of them women2 - have borrowed microfinance loans with historic repayment rates Noun 1. repayment rate - the amount of money paid out per unit time installment rate, payment rate, rate of payment charge per unit, rate - amount of a charge or payment relative to some basis; "a 10-minute phone call at that rate would cost $5" averaging 97 percent3. It is estimated that about 500 million people run microbusinesses, yet fewer than 10 million of these people - or about 2.5 percent - are able to obtain loans from banks or traditional lending institutions Noun 1. lending institution - a financial institution that makes loans financial institution, financial organisation, financial organization - an institution (public or private) that collects funds (from the public or other institutions) and invests them in 4. To satisfy this demand, the microfinance industry will need substantial amounts of additional investment capital. By providing access to everyday investors in the U.S., MicroPlace has opened up a substantial new channel to acquire the investment capital the industry needs to grow. About MicroPlace MicroPlace (www.microplace.com), founded in 2006, is an investment marketplace whose mission is to alleviate global poverty by enabling everyday people to invest in the world's working poor. As a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA (formerly NASD), MicroPlace is currently the only broker-dealer specializing in microfinance securities for retail investors. MicroPlace is a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY). 1 Source: International Labour Organization's Global Employment Trends Brief www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/global.htm 2 Source: Microcredit Summit Campaign The Microcredit Summit Campaign is the civil-society initiative that was born out of the first Microcredit Summit. In February 1997, RESULTS Educational Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization dedicated to mass educational strategies to generate the will to end world hunger Report, http://www.microcreditsummit.org/pubs/reports/socr/2006/SOCR06.pdf 3 Source: http://www.gdrc.org/icm/data/d-snapshot.html 4 Source: www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/topics/rural_finance/statistics.htm |
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