Editor’s note: This event is now full. Students who have reserved a spot at the event must show UCLA IDs in order to be admitted. No photography will be permitted at the event.
In an effort to bring more attention to international microfinancing and sustainability efforts, Natalie Portman will be visiting the UCLA Anderson School of Management today as a part of the village banking “Call to Action” plan.
Portman will represent FINCA International, a global organization that has specialized in microlending since 1984. This is one of several stops for the bicoastal tour that has stopped at UC Berkeley and Stanford earlier this week.
Microloans, often between $10 and $100, are given to the world’s poorest communities that banks would otherwise consider unfavorable candidates, said Nurit Katz, president of the Graduate Students Association.
“(They) are really poor, truly in poverty. Such people can’t get credit or loans (and) microfinance gives small loans to help people who are in poverty get out of poverty,” she said.
The event, co-sponsored by the UCLA Anderson Net Impact chapter and the Center for International Business Research, is geared toward reaching 1 million of the world’s lowest-income families through village banking, Katz said.
“Village” banking is the practice of microfinancing rural areas by grouping together people who would individually be unable to pay back the loan but can be communally responsible its payment Nicole Nasser, co-president of UCLA Anderson Net Impact, said.
Typically, microloans are given to individuals starting a business, Nasser said. But in village banking, a small set of people who may not be involved in a business together agree to pay off the loan as a group, Nasser said.
Portman, who was named their Ambassador of Hope in 2003, has already traveled around the world on behalf of FINCA and will visit UCLA today to discuss the importance of supporting village banking.
Katz said she believes it is important that college communities have the opportunity to participate in events such as these.
“It’s important for young people to be exposed to what’s going on in the world and (see) how they can contribute and have an impact,” she added.
Shaumir Acharya, grant coordinator for the Center for International Business Research, said he believes the event’s message is a broad one.
“I think it’s something that is open to the community at large, it’s not just for MBA students or UCLA students … it’s for the L.A. community,” he said.
Acharya said the center has been involved in doing microfinance work for at least five years and helps Anderson students interested in microfinance with their mandatory management research projects.
Net Impact has also worked in microfinancing for several years in accordance with its goals, Nasser said. “(Our) mission is to create a network of leaders who want to use business tools to make a positive impact in the world socially, economically and environmentally,” she said.
Nasser said part of the reason Net Impact worked to bring the Village Banking “Call for Action” campaign to UCLA was to educate the incoming Anderson School and UCLA community on the effect they can have.
“You can use business to change the world, and (we wanted) to get this incoming class excited about what they can use their degree for,” she said.
During the event, speakers will encourage students to get involved by becoming online village banking advocates, taking financial action in their school by setting goals and making cycled donations, and getting involved directly with FINCA International.