ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship MICROENTERPRISE IN THE UNITED STATES The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) Prosperity for All Through Entrepreneurship

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship Microenterprise in the United States  24 million microenterprises (88%)  31 million jobs (18% of private sector)  10 million potential ME clients  Over 500 organizations: combined average of 250,000 people per year  Microloan programs made an average of 42 loans per year  Programs lend to borrowers with credit scores as low as 525.

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship AEO  Membership Organization  18 Years Old Non-Profit  Board of Directors  Practitioner Members  Consultants  For Profit Organizations  SMA Seat

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship Program Characteristics  Most MEDs non-profits  Many are Free Standing  Many are projects of larger organizations: CDCs, Community Action Agencies, Housing Corporations, CDFIs, Credit Unions, etc.

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship Services  Lending  Training  Access to Markets  Individualized Technical Assistance  Mentoring  Financial Literacy and IDAs  Computer Literacy  Access to internet

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship Lending Programs Peer and Individual Lending Average loan size $8 – 10,000 Stepped loans becoming more common Wide variety of loan products Credit Builder loans Character based Credit Scores as low as Ability Fund: Entry point for persons with disabilities

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship Who We are Serving*  61% Women  50% Minority  60% Low to Moderate Income  30% At or below Poverty Level  11% TANF recipients *Aspen Institute

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship Study of 813 Program Clients Three year study  651 businesses created  Employed 953 people  Existing business owners reported 26% increase in revenue at end of period  560 of the businesses studied reported total revenues of $43,844,178 Movement out of poverty 36-42% in programs targeting women

ENTERPRISE OPPORTUNITY Prosperity For All Through Entrepreneurship Association for Enterprise Opportunity 1601 North Kent Street Suite 1101 Arlington, Virginia Prosperity for All Through Entrepreneurship