At the beginning of my sophomore year, I was fairly confident that I wasn’t the only Georgetown student that was stuck between the dual aspirations of a career in business or working in development. In my mind, there was a clear distinction between these two fields: for-profit versus nonprofit. I was trying to decide between pursuing a career in a financial institution or in an NGO after graduation. While it may seem early, many other choices about classes, summer internships and student organizations were predicated upon the path that I chose to take. Amid weekly panic attacks about what I was going to do with my international economics degree, I joined the Georgetown Global Microfinance Initiative and was opened up to an entirely new realm of career possibilities in the field that lies at the intersection of development and business.
GGMI is a small, student-run organization that was just founded at the end of last semester, and it provides consultation services to growing microfinance initiatives in the developing world. Microfinance is a broad term describing the provision of loans and other financial services to people that would not have access to traditional banks because of their low-income status. Microfinance is recognized as one of the most highly effective tools in combating poverty and has been implemented with success all over the world. Unlike other related organizations on campus, GGMI does not actually give out loans to clients, but rather it provides background support in the form of market research and impact evaluation to existing microlending institutions in developing countries.
As an organization in its early stage, GGMI is currently trying to work out the kinks of applying to become a nonprofit, acquiring funding sources and connecting with microfinance initiatives around the world. After just three months of being in existence, GGMI has partnered with Honduran Microfinance in managing and evaluating the initiative’s eight community banks and streamlining the process for forming new banks.
As a member of the business development team, I am currently working on grant applications through Corp Philanthropy and the Social Innovation and Public Service Fund. Most recently, GGMI partnered with the Georgetown Development Initiative in bringing Steven Radelet, a former USAID economist and current Georgetown professor, to speak on campus. It is my hope that the development professionals at GGMI’s future events demonstrate to students in my position that they do not have to choose between being a nonprofit do-gooder and a successful businessman. I have learned that the usefulness of quantitative skills isn’t limited to Wall Street and corporate America, but rather a thorough understanding of finance, accounting and economics is applicable to a wide range of development careers.
All nascent organizations share the initial obstacle of acquiring the necessary funding to pay for start-up costs. In a few months, we will hopefully be able to send members to work directly with Microfinance Initiatives on the ground in developing countries, but that is a long way down the road and requires significant funding. Despite these formidable impediments, we are a small group of dedicated students armed with the genuine desire to learn about global development issues; raise awareness in the Georgetown community of the diverse career opportunities in this field; and make a lasting impact with the knowledge and drive that we do possess.
Jaysel Shah is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service and a member of the Georgetown Global Microfinance Initiative business development team.
