Binghamton Microfinance Connection, a new club at Binghamton University, hopes to teach students how financial services can benefit those in need.
The club plans to teach students about microfinancing by holding events with guest speakers, fundraising and participating in national competitions.
“The term microfinance intimidates people, but it really is a more developed form of modern charity,” said Kancheng Wang, the club’s vice president and a sophomore economics and social anthropology major.
Microfinancing enables entrepreneurs in developing nations to start businesses with the help of small loans. The club plans to work with Kiva, a global service dedicated to this method of funding.
According to Wang, it is the most simple, effective and visible way of transforming hard work into improved standards of living.
“More sustainable than pure charity, microfinance allows the poor to use their own innovation to escape poverty through their own long ways,” Wang said.
Valerie Hammel, president of the club and a sophomore finance and accounting major, who has given lectures on this topic at Drexel University, is anxious to get the club started.
Hammel’s goal for the club “combines the will of people to do good for others and the corporate responsibility of helping businesses evolve.”
“We hope to join with Cornell [University] in the future and work with them to bring guest speakers, since our schools are in close proximity,” Wang said.
Potential member Tom McCaffery, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, explored and found interest in the concept of microfinance last year, when he heard about the club from Hammel.
“I was part of a group similar to this club,” McCaffrey said. “They did a lot of research on microfinance … the main research and information that was used to first start understanding the basics and see how to get into it was through information on Kiva.”
The Binghamton Microfinance Connection will be holding a general interest meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22 in the New University Union, room 120.
“This is your chance to have a direct hand in making a difference,” Wang said. “Connecting students to the world of microfinance is only a meeting away, but [the] impact so near and great.”