BOSTON, MA - October 11, 2007 - U.S. microfinance pioneer ACCION USA today announced the launch of a free seminar series on microfinance, 'Empowering Lives with Microfinance,' open to the general public at its headquarters on Roland Street, Boston. The first seminar will be held Wednesday, October 17th.

Held every third Wednesday of the month, the series has been designed to provide the general public with a detailed look at microfinance - the practice of providing small loans to self-employed individuals - and how it plays a role in strengthening U.S. communities. With heightened interest in the field, fueled by the awarding of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to microfinance practitioner Muhammad Yunus, the program will take a specific look at U.S. microlending and explain why it is as important in Boston as it is in Botswana in helping to alleviate poverty and improve quality of life.

'Empowering Lives with Microfinance' will trace the history of microfinance in the U.S., as well as ACCION USA's role in microlending and financial literacy. The seminars are appropriate for students, professors, clergy, community developers, community leaders, city officials/employees, bankers, small business owners, social entrepreneurs and community activists, and will include a tour of the organization’s New England lending program.

More information on the program is available from Rachel Farahbakhsh at ACCION USA, at rfarahbakhsh@accionusa.org.

About ACCION USA

ACCION USA is a private, non-profit organization that serves low-income microentrepreneurs, primarily minorities and women, who are unable to access bank credit for their businesses. A pioneer and recognized leader in the domestic microfinance field, ACCION USA is dedicated to providing microentrepreneurs and individuals on the economic margin with the crucial chance to borrow capital at fair rates of interest. In doing so, we enable our clients to increase family incomes, create jobs and revitalize and empower economically disenfranchised communities. For the past four years, ACCION has received Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award for "changing the world by using entrepreneurial genius to solve some of the most daunting social problems." For more information: www.accionusa.org

ACCION International

ACCION International

ACCION International is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission of giving people the financial tools they need―microenterprise loans, business training and other financial services―to work their way out of poverty. A world pioneer in microfinance, ACCION was founded in 1961 and issued its first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. ACCION International's partner microfinance institutions today are providing loans as low as $100 to poor men and women entrepreneurs in 25 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the United States. In the last decade alone, ACCION partners have disbursed more than 17.9 million loans totaling more than $12.3 billion; 97 percent of the loans have been repaid. Selected for the fourth consecutive year for its pioneering approaches to poverty alleviation, ACCION was among 43 organizations awarded the 2007 Social Capitalist Award by Fast Company magazine. ACCION has also been awarded Charity Navigator's highest rating―four stars―for efficiency and sound fiscal management. For more information, visit www.accion.org.

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