[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 15, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E666-E667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING THE TRICKLE UP PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 15, 1997

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask my congressional colleagues to join 
me in honoring the Trickle Up Program for the outstanding job they have 
done to increase the possibility and opportunity for self-sufficiency 
amid the world's poorest populations. I hereby submit for inclusion 
into the Congressional Record the 1996 annual report.

       The Trickle Up Program offers low-income people opportunity 
     for income and self employment through entrepreneurship. In 
     the past 18 years, more than 58,000 micro-enterprises have 
     been started or expanded in 114 countries with support from 
     Trickle Up. In 1996, 6,738 businesses were launched or 
     expanded in 51 countries, benefiting 24,899 entrepreneurs and 
     over 100,000 dependents. Eighty-two percent of the 
     enterprises begun in 1996 are family owned, and 80% are the 
     entrepreneurs' main source of income. Fifty-nine percent of 
     the entrepreneurs are women.


                          regional highlights

       Africa: 2,314 micro-enterprises in 26 countries. In 
     partnership with 126 local partners, Trickle Up helped start 
     or expand businesses among the very poor, including refugees 
     in Sierra Leone, displaced people in Liberia, people living 
     with HIV/AIDS in Uganda, and families of streetchildren in 
     Ethiopia. An exciting new partnership with the United Nations 
     Volunteers was launched in Mozambique. The Peace Corps was an 
     active partner in Africa, helping to start micro-enterprises 
     in Mali, Benin, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Sao Tome, and Togo. 
     Many low-income entrepreneurs were reached by community-based 
     organizations in Zaire, Tanzania, and Madagascar.
       Asia: 2,970 mirco-enterprises in 12 countries. Trickle Up 
     continued to work in the poorest countries as well as those 
     recovering from war or confronted with political dissent. In 
     India the program was focused on isolated rural communities 
     in Bihar and urban slum dwellers in Calcutta. Families in the 
     far western region of Nepal were helped by UN Volunteers. In 
     Bangladesh Trickle Up worked with women's organizations and 
     tribal groups, and in China pursued initiatives linking 
     environmental conservation with sustainable development. A 
     new partnership was forged in Afghanistan with the World Food 
     Programme, a UN agency.
       Americas: 1,442 businesses in 9 countries. Micro-
     enterprises were started by single mothers and disabled 
     people in Guatemala, mothers of malnourished children in 
     Haiti, teenagers in Peruvian shantytowns, and Bolivian 
     families in the Andes. Trickle Up often serves as the first 
     step to business development among the poorest: 25% of one-

[[Page E667]]

     year-old businesses started through one Nicaraguan partner 
     agency accessed loans for business expansion. Several 
     evaluations of the sustainability and impact of Trickle Up's 
     work showed the following results: in El Salvador, 58% of the 
     businesses are continuing after five years; in Guatemala, 90% 
     of 2- to 4-year-old businesses are continuing; and in 
     Ecuador, 90% of the businesses begun by parents of working 
     children were continuing after 18 months and helped reduce 
     the hours worked by their children by 20%.
       U.S. Update: Trickle Up helped start or expand 108 
     businesses through 17 Coordinating Agencies in 8 states. 
     Expansion is planned along the eastern seaboard with a new 
     grant size.
       Europe: 22 micro enterprises. The Program remained active 
     in Armenia and expanded to Georgia and Romania. The Peace 
     Corps continues to be Trickle Up's main partner in the 
     region.
       In 1996, Trickle Up continued to fulfill its mission of 
     reducing poverty by enabling the very poor to start or expand 
     small businesses. Trickle Up accomplishes this with the 
     generous support of foundations, corporations, organizations 
     and individuals--many of them entrepreneurs. Trickle Up 
     continues to rely on those who find in the Trickle Up process 
     a way to make a difference and reduce poverty--one business 
     at a time. Trickle Up brings the poor more than seed capital; 
     it brings dignity, a job, self-confidence and real hope for a 
     better future. Trickle Up has helped people start or expand 
     nearly 60,000 businesses. Our goal is to start 100,000 by the 
     millennium.


        Income Sources                                          Percent
Foundations..........................................................41
Individuals..........................................................33
Corporations..........................................................6
Organizations.........................................................6
Governments..........................................................14

       The Program: The Trickle Up Program provides business 
     training material and micro-venture capital of $100 to a 
     family or group of 3 people to start a business. This start-
     up capital is conditioned upon investment of 250 hours or 
     work per participant in three months, savings or reinvestment 
     of 20% of the profit in the enterprise, and completion of a 
     Trickle Up Business Plan and Business Report. The capital is 
     given in two $50 installments.
       The Partners: The program is delivered through a network of 
     ``Coordinating Agencies'', locally based organizations around 
     the world who volunteer their services to Trickle Up. This 
     partnership enables grass-roots agencies to incorporate a 
     micro-enterprise component in their development work.

                          ____________________