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Can you spare a five?
Group aims to raise $25 million to make micro loans to female entrepreneurs
By Staff Writer Hope Hamashige
March 27, 2000: 12:32 p.m. ET
cnnfn.com
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Ask Nell Merlino what $5 will buy you these days and she will tell you that your $5 bill can help start a revolution by creating more jobs and greater business opportunities for women.
Borrowing a loan model designed to help women in Third World countries lift themselves out of poverty, coupled with a little help of modern technology, Merlino is launching Count-Me-In For Women's Economic Independence Tuesday. The goal of Count-Me-In is to raise $25 million, by asking women across American to donate $5 through Count-Me-In's Web site, which will be used to make micro loans to women business owners.
"My attitude is this: We are responsible for our own equality," said Merlino. "Women have never had their own source of funding and it's time we had one."
Some progress, but women still lag behind
For all the progress women have made in the business world, they still trail their male counterparts. Women still earn less than men, Merlino noted, with 80 percent of all women in the workforce pulling in less than $25,000 a year. Female-run companies, though they are growing in number, still lag behind male-run enterprises when it comes to securing financing.
By granting loans of $500 to $10,000, Merlino hopes to help budding female entrepreneurs typically denied funding for their ventures. The concept of micro lending was born in Bangladesh about 15 years ago and has spread to many underdeveloped countries to help women start small ventures.
Merlino and Count-Me-In partner Iris Burnett came up with the idea to use the Internet to start a micro-lending institution two years ago after attending a White House women's economic summit.
Women are starting businesses in the Untied States at a faster rate than they ever have. And although they are an economic force, women and minorities still have difficulty securing funds for their companies.
"Anyone who says it is just as easy for women, doesn't know what is really going on," Merlino said. "I can give you a list as long as both your arms and legs of women and minorities who are not getting money."
A grassroots effort
Merlino said the non-profit hopes to reach its $25 million goal largely by word of mouth. The idea is to reach 1 million of the 136 million women in the United States, convince them to talk to four friends and get all five to donate $5 to Count-Me-In.
Seem farfetched? Merlino doesn't think so. She is getting the word out about Count-Me-In by making appearances across the country and, so far, her appeals seem to be resonating with her audience. At a recent gathering in Los Angeles, one woman was so enthused about Count-Me-In, she wrote a check for $100,000 on the spot.
Although the site is just launching this week, letters and checks from all over America are already pouring into Count-Me-In's New York offices from women who have heard Merlino speak or read news stories about the site. Merlino said the reach of the Internet makes it possible for them to tap an unprecedented number of women.
They are encouraging women who visit the site to start e-mail lists encouraging other women to visit the Web site and make a contribution.
"When you are organizing on a large scale you are always looking for ways to reach more people and we couldn't do this on this kind of scale without the Internet," said Merlino.
Funding women will inspire change
Merlino said the lending part of the site will be up in May and they hope to start giving out some of the loans shortly thereafter. The organization is making a special effort to reach minority women and is working with several minority organizations to spread the word.
Merlino said they expect to fund women in a variety of businesses - - anything from catering to e-commerce. It is her hope, she said, to "inspire women not only to succeed in fields traditionally dominated by women, but to go into new businesses."
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