Outside the U.S.

SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS

Acumen Fund
www.acumenfund.org
Acumen Fund is a global non-profit venture fund which aims to serve the 4 billion people in the world who live on less than $4 a day. Acumen Fund was incorporated in 2001, with seed capital from the Rockefeller Foundation, Cisco Systems Foundation and three individual philanthropists. Areas of concentration so far have been investments in health technology, water systems, housing, and finance.

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
www.ashoka.org
Ashoka identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs - extraordinary individuals with unprecedented ideas for change in their communities - and supports the individual, idea and institution through all phases of development. Thus far, over 1,700 Ashoka Fellows have been elected in over 53 countries, and are working on projects related to the environment, education and learning, health, human rights, civic participation and economic development. In addition to the election of Fellows, Ashoka has spawned many other initiatives including the Full Economic Citizenship project, which launches and supports ventures that aim to provide the two-thirds of the world living in poverty with the ability and choice to participate in a more inclusive global economy as consumers, producers and investors.

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
www.cgap.org
CGAP, founded in 1995, is a consortium of 28 public and private development agencies working together to expand access to financial services for the poor in developing countries. The web site includes a wide variety of publications and on-line resources about international microfinance issues and trends.

Institute for Development Evaluation, Assistance and Solutions (IDEAS)
www.ideasnet.org
Founded in 1975, the IDEAS mission is to contribute to sustainable economic development of the poor and moderate income persons. This is done primarily by providing services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other organizations that provide financial products and non-financial services.

International Co-operative Alliance
www.ica.coop
The International Co-operative Alliance is the peak association that represents over 800 million members of cooperatives worldwide.

International Labour Organization
www.ilo.org
The International Labour Organization, a UN-organization headquartered in Geneva, maintains extensive information on this site about labor practices worldwide, including sections on cooperatives and community development (“social”) finance.

International Organisation of Industrial, Artisanal, and Service Producers’ Co-operatives (CICOPA)
www.cicopa.coop
CICOPA is the international federation of worker cooperatives, representing worker co-ops in 39 countries. The web site has very limited information on its site, but is a good place to find links to its member federations throughout the world.

Living Knowledge, The International Science Shop Network
www.livingknowledge.org
The concept of the “science shop” originated in the Lowlands. Similar to university community partnership centers in the United States, science shops are organizations created as mediators between citizen groups (trade unions, pressure groups, non-profit organizations, social groups, environmentalists, consumers, residents association etc.) and research institutions (universities, independent research facilities). The website contains papers from international conferences, back issues of the Living Knowledge journal, and back issues of the science shop network’s bimonthly newsletter.

National Cooperative Business Association, “CLUSA International Program”
www.ncba.coop/clusa.cfm
The Cooperative League of the USA (CLUSA) is the international arm of the National Cooperative Business Association, which provides technical assistance to develop cooperatives internationally. Since 1953, CLUSA has managed over 200 projects in 53 countries and has performed over 1,000 short-term consultancies in 79 countries.

Opportunities Without Borders
www.owob.org
Founded in 2006 as a result of experiences abroad by Colorado State business students, Opportunities Without Borders has aimed to leverage universities around the world focused on social entrepreneurship to provide on the ground assistance and education to micro-enterprises around the world on how to expand their sales and operational capability. Student teams partner with local organizations, university faculty, industry mentors, NGOs, and potential investors to assist micro-businesses to assess market opportunities. In addition, the group manages a small revolving loan fund, which can be used to help finance expansion.

United Nations, International Year of Microcredit 2005
www.yearofmicrocredit.org
The international growth of micro-credit finance has been so great that the United Nations has declared 2005 to be the International Year of Microcredit. The web site includes articles on microfinance, lists of additional suggested books and data sources, and links to international development organizations.

United Nations Development Programme
www.undp.org
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 166 countries and is helping support global and national efforts to reach the international Millennium Development Goal of cutting the world’s rate of poverty in half by 2015.

Women’s World Banking
www.womensworldbanking.org
The Women's World Banking network aims to have a major impact on expanding the economic assets, participation and power of low income women as entrepreneurs and economic agents by opening their access to finance, knowledge and markets. Their web site includes information about the program, publications, and contact information for national affiliate members.

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Working World
www.theworkingworld.org
Working World is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that was established to support the growth of worker cooperatives in Argentina. Since 2004, the organization has made 73 “micro” loans and disbursed a total of more than $500,000 in loan financing (1.65 million Argentine pesos) to support the operations of dozens of Argentine worker cooperatives.

World Council of Credit Unions
www.woccu.org
The World Council of Credit Unions is a representative organization for credit unions around the world. Through publications, meetings, and technical assistance, WCCU works to extend credit unions as viable tools of economic development.