Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law

Microfinance Program

Palmer Center leadership present Dr. Muhammad
Yunus with the 2006 Social Entrepreneur of the
Year Award at Grameen Bank Headquarters in
Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Palmer Center Microfinance Program was established to provide microenterprise training and microloans to poor individuals in downtown Los Angeles. Dedicated at Dr. Yunus' 2007 speech on Pepperdine's Malibu campus, the program is set to launch Fall 2009.

The pilot group will consist of 25-30 individuals, selected from the residents of the Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission. Prior to loan disbursement, the prospective borrowers will participate in a 12 week training session, during which they will learn the basic principles of financial management, business planning, and accountability. These sessions will be taught by Palmer Center faculty.

Students from Pepperdine University will participate as teaching fellows for the instructional components of the program and also serve as coaches for individual borrowers throughout the duration fo the program.

Loans will be funded by community members through a website, where borrower's profiles and business plans will be posted for review by potential lenders. The average loan size for the pilot program will be $2,000, and borrowers will have 12 months within which to repay the loan.