January February 2016
Where Christian faith gets down to business
Colonial cradle hosts MEDA’s convention
A crowbar that works for the poor Tajikistan’s long tail of impact Born lucky — our global difference 1
The Marketplace January February 2016
Roadside stand
He let in the light Imagine a legacy like this. John Henry Patterson (1844–1922), who with his brother founded the National Cash Register Company, thought people should work in a pleasant environment. In 1893, when sweatshops abounded, he constructed the first “daylight factory” buildings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows that let in light and could open to let in fresh air. He hired a prominent landscaper to spruce up NCR’s Dayton, Ohio, campus with spacious lawns and colorful plants. He also was fervent about customer service. For many years signs in every service department said: “We cannot afford to have a single dissatisfied customer.” Patterson could be a tough taskmaster. He famously fired Thomas Watson Sr. who went on to head IBM. He trained and fired so many prominent people that some historians said working at NCR was as valuable as an MBA degree. From 1910-1930 an estimated one-sixth of business executives in the U.S. were former NCR executives. When Patterson died he left no huge fortune because he had spent so much money on social programs and believed that “shrouds have no pockets.” Taken in? This story makes the rounds every few years. The director of an Irish orphanage reportedly invited an American philanthropist to donate to a building project. The donor agreed to give 5,000 pounds. Elated, the official issued a news Cover photo of colonial Richmond, Virginia, site of MEDA’s recent annual convention.
The Marketplace January February 2016
release with a slight error, reporting the donor had agreed to contribute 50,000 pounds. After the article appeared the director called the donor to report the dreadful mistake and offered to issue a retraction to clarify that the contribution had been only 5,000 pounds, not 50. The donor, not wanting to now appear cheap, said, “No, don’t print a retraction. I’ll increase my contribution to 50,000, but on the condition that I can choose
the inscription on the cornerstone.” The director readily agreed and construction proceeded. When the time came to lay the cornerstone the donor stipulated that the inscription come from Matthew 25:35 — “I was a stranger, and you took me in.” Executive pick-up. Max De Pree arrived at the tennis club locker room just after a group of young people left without picking up after themselves. He went around collecting their strewn towels and put them in the hamper. A friend quietly watched him do this and then asked him a question that De Pree pondered often over the years. “Do you pick up towels because you’re the president of a company, or are you the president because you pick up towels?” — Max De Pree in Leadership Jazz Social strides. Large companies ap2
parently are talking more openly about their social behavior, according to the New York-based Governance and Accountability Institute. In 2013, 72 percent of businesses listed on the S&P 500 stock market index published a responsibility report of some kind. This was a big jump from two years earlier, when just under 20 percent did so. Who gives? When it comes to charitable giving, women are more generous than men, according to a Merrill Lynch survey. “Our research shows that more women than men contribute financially and volunteer their time to causes,” says Lorna Sabbia, the company’s retirement and personal wealth specialist. “The difference may be explained by their motivations. Women are more likely than men to say helping people in need brings them greater happiness than spending money on themselves, and women are more likely to define success by generosity versus wealth.” She adds that generosity rises with age. Retirees, who tend to have more accumulated net worth, account for 31 percent of the adult U.S. population but contribute 42 percent of money to charity. (Globe & Mail) Mama Meda. She was an early client in Tanzania 20 years ago, a member of a “solidarity group” that received a joint loan from MEDA’s Mbeya Credit Facility to strengthen emerging businesses. She was so pleased with the credit and training assistance that she paid an enormous compliment: she named her newborn son “Meda.” Among some groups in Tanzania it was customary for a new mother to take on the name of her firstborn. Hence this woman became known as “Mama Meda.” — WK
In this issue
MEDA folk cooked up a storm in Richmond. Page 6
Departments 22 24 20 21 22
Roadside stand Soul enterprise Reviews Soundbites News
Editor: Wally Kroeker Design: Ray Dirks
Colonial hub hosts MEDA
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A crowbar for the poor
More than 400 people came to Richmond, Virginia, to explore the theme “Growing Business, Building Community” with race relations expert James Loewen and NPR’s David Greene.
MEDA’s AGM got a vivid picture of the power of leveraging. Last year the organization worked with 233 partners in 52 countries to help 36.5 million families achieve healthier livelihoods.
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Long tail of impact
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How are the poor different?
From the vision of two ambitious women (and help from MEDA), a mighty financial institution has grown in Tajikistan and now serves more than 100,000 clients through 26 branch offices.
Why are some people poor, and we aren’t? Because we were born lucky. Most poor people want pretty much what we want, said Joyce Bontrager Lehman in her closing convention address.
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Volume 46, Issue 1 January February 2016 The Marketplace (ISSN 321-330) is published bi-monthly by Mennonite Economic Development Associates at 532 North Oliver Road, Newton, KS 67114. Periodicals postage paid at Newton, KS 67114. Lithographed in U.S.A. Copyright 2016 by MEDA.
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Change of address should be sent to Mennonite Economic Development Associates, 1891 Santa Barbara Dr., Ste. 201, Lancaster, PA 17601-4106.
Reaching out to Cuba
With restrictions recently relaxed, 18 visitors supported by the Sarasota MEDA chapter traveled to Cuba to meet local entrepreneurs and get a feel for what might become possible. By JB Miller
To e-mail an address change, subscription request or anything else relating to delivery of the magazine, please contact subscription@meda.org For editorial matters contact the editor at wkroeker@meda.org or call (204) 956-6436 Subscriptions: $25/year; $45/two years.
Postmaster: Send address changes to The Marketplace 1891 Santa Barbara Dr., Ste. 201 Lancaster, PA 17601-4106
Published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), whose dual thrust is to encourage a Christian witness in business and to operate business-oriented programs of assistance to the poor. For more information about MEDA call 1-800-665-7026. Web site www.meda.org
Visit our new online home at www.marketplacemagazine.org, where you can download past issues, read articles and discuss topics with others, all from your desktop or mobile device.
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The Marketplace January February 2016
What bosses want You’re eager to start a career that uses your gifts, lets you express your values, and makes a difference to the world. But first you have to convince an employer to hire you. Young people attending a seminar at MEDA’s convention in Richmond, Virginia, got a flavor of how to get a leg up. The seminar, titled “What employers want: Skills needed by today’s professionals,” was led by Mike True of Messiah College. Among the things would-be bosses are looking for: • ethical judgement, integrity • broad knowledge, interpretive understanding • innovation/creativity • superior communication skills • critical thinking, problem solving • ability to gather and analyze data • teamwork/collaboration
Going for gold
Photo by IPGGutenbergUKLtd
Heard about the “switching economy”? More consumers (52 percent in Canada) are willing to switch their patronage because of poor customer service. Management expert Barbara J. Bowes titled a recent Winnipeg Free Press column “The golden rule” (subtitled “make sure your business treats customers the way you want to be treated”). The column isn’t explicitly religious, but people who know their Bible will see parallels and conclude that heeding the advice of Jesus is good for business (who knew?). Bowes reports rising consumer frustration over service glitches that aren’t readily resolved. More and more, service is trumping price and product. Also, disgruntled customers are more willing to blab to others on social media. Bowes notes that it costs six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one. Some suggestions: • Manage your online presence; customers get frustrated by a website that is outdated or awkward to navigate. Make clear how to report a service problem and then respond quickly. • Create service scripts for employees to use so they display warmth and welcome. As Maya Angelou has written, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” • Empower employees to resolve most service problems and not pass the buck. • Take complaints seriously. If you can’t resolve an issue immediately, at least confirm you understand the problem and be sure to deal with it later. Treating customers the way you’d want to be treated will bring them back — with wallets and purses open.
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How about employees? Corporate recruiters are finding that more and more talented young people look beyond income as they consider a job. Social responsibility is rising as a recruiting and retention tool as promising hires look for companies they can believe in and where they can make a positive impact. A Toronto management firm found that while potential job changers still value conventional metrics like income and career growth potential, 67 percent prefer a company with a reputation for social responsibility, and 88 percent want to work for a company known for environmental sustainability. “For me to perform my best,” says one young job seeker, “I have to be working at a company where I believe in what they’re doing.” An executive search official says, “In the hundreds of interviews that we conduct in the course of a year, the notion of what a company stands for beyond the balance sheet comes up nine times out of 10.... [I]t’s harder to attract talent from organizations where the people really feel like they’re doing something bigger than themselves in the world.” — Globe & Mail 4
“They’re not throwaways,” retiree says
Photo by Robert Hoetink
When he ran a tree and shrub business in Edmonton, Alberta, Bill Bock made regular visits to the Bissell Centre employment office to hire casual help. Now, at 87, he still visits, but for a different reason. He goes as a volunteer, helping laborers (two or three a day) connect with employers. He then drives them to their work site or gets the employer to pay for a taxi. Bock started this informal mission after his wife died a decade ago, and he needed something to do. He talked to the folks at Bissell about matching people there with companies. He’s been at it ever since. As he wanders around the premises wearing a trademark black cap with a red maple leaf, workers approach him for help. Many have skills in drywall, carpentry, painting and plumbing. They want to work, “and they want to work badly,” Bock says. Being jobless adds to all the other problems of poverty, says Bock, who grew up during the Depression and recalls his “What if you and I had all our business affairs opened and examfamily struggling to afford food. “They’re ined at death and reported in the daily newspaper? What if all the depressed because they think they’re worthreaders could see our income statements, our balance sheets, our less. The first thing I do is try to make them corporate minutes? How would our Christian faithfulness be diagfeel they have something to offer. That they nosed? are not throwaways.” “Would such business autopsies reveal to our fellow church As an individual volunteer, Bock says members that we died in good spiritual health? That we tried to he can help people more readily than formal carry out our Christian responsibilities? programs slowed by “Would the autopsies show that we paid adequate bureaucracy. “If you wages and benefits? That we charged fair prices? That can do something our business practices were in harmony with what we independently of the said we believed? That we handled conflict with love and system, and assist the compassion? That we gave generously? system, it’s worth“I don’t care if they open my body to discover the while.” cause of death. But what would my brothers and sisters He believes his discover if they could see the inside of my business?” — work makes a difJohn H. Rudy in Moneywise Meditations: To Be Found ference. “You take a Faithful in God’s Audit personal interest in a person that is despondent, and you can Overheard: “One day your life will flash before your eyes. save a life,” he says. — Edmonton Journal Make sure it’s worth watching.” — Anonymous
Business autopsies
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The Marketplace January February 2016
MEDA convention:
A visit to the colonial heartland Making strides to grow business, and build community
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Steve Sugrim photo
magine this comment from a Wrong and Sundown Towns: A Hidtopic that has been much in the pubtourist: “It’s amazing how they den Dimension of American Racism. lic consciousness — racial harmony fought all those civil war battles His presentation was well-received (or lack thereof). It had poignant imin parks.” not only for its content but also for plications for businessfolk concerned Or, “How did they fight the battle his magnetic humor. about being moral leaders in their of Gettysburg with all those statues The convention theme was communities. in the way?” “Growing Business, Building ComBeing taught “bad history” Those odd comments result from munity.” Its location in Richmond, minimized the role of African Ameribeing taught “bad history,” socioloVirginia, the cradle of colonialism, cans, valorized the Confederate gist James Loewen told the opening made it a fitting place to explore a cause, made affirmative action look session of the annual MEDA silly and alienated people convention, Nov. 5-8 in of color, said Loewen as he Richmond, Virginia. traced racism from the coloIn a lively humor-laced nial period to the present. presentation Loewen adAfrican Americans dressed the issue of how continued to lag behind America’s historical selfin numerous categories, image is skewed in many reincluding marital status spects, especially as regards and income. The average racism. African American family “We teach history worse was 10 percent less affluent than we teach any other than whites. One area they topic,” he said, adding that led, rather than lagged, was a result of being “told lies crime. They also were readabout ourselves” is that it ily typecast by the dominant “makes us all stupid.” population. “We all think categorically about black Loewen, who holds folk but we never think cata PhD in sociology from egorically about white folk,” Harvard University, taught he said. race relations for 20 years at the University of Vermont. He has distinguished himself In his Friday semias an authority on racism nar Loewen expanded on in America and has been an “sundown towns,” which expert witness in more than he described as “all white, 50 civil rights, voting rights on purpose.” Such towns and employment cases. His forbade blacks from staying writings include the bestpast sundown. seller Lies My Teacher Told “I learned from my own Me: Everything Your High relatives that Mennonites Diversity makes us all smarter, said Thursday keynote School History Textbook Got could be as racist as anyspeaker James Loewen, an authority on racism. The Marketplace January February 2016
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which are racially biased. Expect good performance from everybody, including people of color. Expect them to do a good job.” Such deliberate action had unintended positive consequences, he said. “Once you get right with racism you get right on other things, too. It will likely make you better in regards to sexism. “Your diversity, your company’s diversity, makes you smarter. You get people who think outside your box.”
Steve Sugrim photo
body else,” said Loewen, who has ancestral Mennonite roots in Mountain Lake, Minn. According to his research, a number of predominantly Mennonite communities (Goshen, Ind., Bluffton, Ohio, and Hillsboro, Kan.) were sundown towns. Such towns were, surprisingly, a northern phenomenon, Loewen said. “They are all over the place except in the deep south. The state of Illinois alone had 507 sundown towns. In fact, 70 percent of all the towns in Illinois were sundown towns. It’s not a southern phenomenon.” He said his goal was to document every sundown town in the U.S. “Getting people to acknowledge their past is the first step to transformation,” he said, urging towns that had such a designation to take three steps: admit, apologize and change practices. Loewen had suggestions for business owners who wanted to build community, as the convention theme suggested. “You need positive experiences
David Greene, host of NPR’s Morning Edition, said he was fascinated by entrepreneurship ... and by MEDA’s work.
Popular journalist and radio personality David Greene brought his engaging warmth and globe-trotting touch to the Saturday evening keynote address. Host of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, he spoke on “Finding Strength in Adversity:
across racial lines,” he said. “Hire blacks, and not just one. Hire two, three or four people of color. Hire a posse. They reinforce each other and do better. Ignore standardized tests,
Tours provided a chance to see local sights like the Richmond International Raceway. From left, tour guide Jim, Dan Miller, Harry Enns, Spencer Cowles, Bill Gotwals, Ruth Leaman and Warde Hershberger.
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The Marketplace January February 2016
Steve Sugrim photo
The Stories of Some Downright Courageous Business Owners.” Greene’s assignments have included the White House, Arab Spring in Libya, Chernobyl and Hurricane Katrina. He served for several years as NPR’s correspondent in Moscow, after which he wrote the book, Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey Into The Heart of Russia. He acknowledged wistfully that the entrepreneurial gift was “something I don’t have” but he had been able to watch it firsthand, both as a journalist trained to listen to stories and as the husband of a woman determined to set up a restaurant in Washington, DC. He had long been If there were a prize for faithful attendance it would go to Ervin and Erma Steinfascinated by people who can battle mann of New Hamburg, Ont. This was their 40th consecutive MEDA convention. back from adversity, from homeowners ravaged by Hurricane Katrina to a Svetlana who give me hope.” fills me with hope and optimism.” Kentucky boat builder laid low by a Greene said he was “truly sour economy who proudly declared amazed” by the work MEDA did to The convention, MEDA’s “making houseboats is in our blood.” promote entrepreneurship. Speaking premier public event, drew some Greene said he felt “lucky to to “a roomful of people who appre420 people this year, including parthave met people like these, people in ciate the art of entrepreneurship ... timers. Among them were stalwarts business who wanted to build Ervin and Erma Steinmann of something. They have helped New Hamburg, Ont., who were me understand what it means attending their 40th consecutive to be an entrepreneur, and convention. what it means to be a dreamer Local tours gave an expo... and what a successful entersure to area attractions, such prise can do for a community.” as visits to the region’s colonial His restaurateur wife, he past, the Richmond Internasaid, had withstood criticism tional Raceway and a hands-on that she was naive, lacked cooking class. Professional experience and didn’t know development and faith/busibusiness. “She followed a ness seminars covered topics dream with such passion and ranging from cultivating leaderperseverance and now is one ship to skills sought by today’s of the hottest and most sucemployers. cessful business owners in Several new features Washington, DC,” he said. were added, such as a “dine In Russia Greene had met around” Friday dinner in entrepreneurs who defied all which groups of attenders odds in building enterprises. visited local eateries together. One was a hotel owner named Another was MEDAnext Talks, Svetlana, who daily battled an afternoon of short TED-style corrupt local officials who presentations on a variety of harassed her in expectation of topics such as use of social mea bribe. dia; charitable giving trends; “This was her life, but she behavioral economics; impact was determined to find a way investing; and creation care. and not to let the system get The next convention will Mennonite Foundation’s Mike Strathdee refines her down. When I think of the be held Oct. 27-30 in San Antohis culinary skills during a visit to the Mise En Place future of Russia, it’s people like Cooking School. nio, Texas. ◆ The Marketplace January February 2016
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Crowbar for the poor Revenue was down but leveraging brought hope to more than 36 million of the world’s poor
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very busy year for staff,” said Schlegel. While not denying the revenue was disappointing, he stressed that “the most important number is the 36.5 million families our efforts helped last year.” MEDA board chair Bert Friesen concurred: “Although the year has had some challenges, we cannot lose sight of the great work MEDA Steve Sugrim photo
he rustle sometimes heard at MEDA’s Annual General Meeting is the sound of eager businessfolk paging to the financial statement. For most of this century, those numbers have shown a happy bottom line. This year gave some pause as MEDA reported that a “perfect storm” of challenges had combined to produce revenues considerably below budget. Treasurer James Schlegel told the AGM that by numbers alone, 2015 was “a difficult year,” with contributions of $4.4 million down from targets and an operational deficit of $1.06 million. “This is something we haven’t been accustomed to in MEDA,” he said, noting a nearly dozen-year run of solid performance. Key drivers of the poor results were transitions in large contracts, lower than expected private contributions and currency devaluations that put pressure on investment earnings. “It was a year of transition with some of our largest projects, such as the mosquito net project in Tanzania and the entrepreneurs project in Pakistan, coming to an end,” said Schlegel. Numerous exciting new contracts in the pipeline had taken longer to gain approval from donor agencies and even longer to reach the active phase. “We expected a lag between old contracts ending and new contracts starting up, but this year the lag had been longer than usual,” said Schlegel. “That’s the reason for the losses.” Still, he said MEDA had “a solid base of equity” and the future looked bright with numerous strong contracts signed and ready to start. “As we get ramped up it will be a
MEDA’s success at leveraging for impact makes it “an organization that others wish to learn from,” said president Allan Sauder.
has done to help so many families improve their livelihoods,” he said. President Allan Sauder observed that “as a business-oriented organization we take our financial reports very seriously, and it is a blessing to work with a board of directors who understand the ups and downs of business and that nothing goes up forever. In my report last year, I said we were grateful for a number of years of very positive bottom lines but that as a risk-taking, leading-edge organization, 9
we know this will not always be the case, and it is important to store up some reserves for future rainy days. Well, this year we obviously needed to dip into those stores.”
Sauder went on to report some of the many ways MEDA leverages for impact, “and why that makes us an organization that others wish to learn from.” He stressed that the leveraging was not the kind made infamous by the Lehman Brothers fiasco and the worldwide financial meltdown of years past, but rather a responsible business approach based on sound stewardship of resources that achieves the greatest impact for the maximum number of families. Falling back on his one-time role in hardware sales, he described it as “a crowbar that works for the poor.” He reported that in the past year MEDA worked with 233 partners in 52 countries to help 36.5 million families realize healthier, more economically sustainable lives. Most of these were customers served by small and medium enterprises where MEDA has an investment through one of the Sarona funds, plus some 66,000 clients to whom partners provided access to markets, financial services and training. “These numbers do not count clients of the organizations that we worked with in the past who continue to provide thousands of entrepreneurs with financial, marketing and training services long after MEDA is no longer directly involved,” said Sauder. In the past nine months 18 new projects had been approved for a total value of $121 million, including The Marketplace January February 2016
“It is a blessing to some $21 million which MEDA will need to raise from private supporters as matching funds over the next four to six years. “The future for MEDA is bright,” he said. Sauder also highlighted impacts that were not so readily quantifiable. One was the enduring success and achievements of IMON, a microfinance institution in Tajikistan that came into being with MEDA’s help (see sidebar article on page 12). Sauder said that this summer he traveled to Ethiopia with the Canadian delegation to the Conference on Financing for Development spon-
work with a board of directors who understand the ups and downs of business and that nothing goes up forever.” sored by the United Nations and an International Business Forum sponsored by the UN and the International Chamber of Commerce. “Gerhard
Pries of our partner organization, Sarona Asset Management, was on stage several times to talk about our work in impact investment,” he said. “Our pioneering work in blended finance was featured prominently — leveraging official development assistance with private sector capital and philanthropic sources to achieve the United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals.” The conference was no small event, he said, with some 8,000 heads of state, ministers of development and finance, and heads of most of the world’s multilateral institutions. “It was very gratifying to see that
God’s lever “Every life impacted is a difference made in the world”
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o introduce the AGM theme, MEDA chief financial officer Gerald Morrison presented a meditation on leverage in the Bible — “how God used ordinary people to accomplish great things.” That leverage, he said, began as early as Genesis, where Abraham and Sarah, seemingly too old to bear children, were blessed with a child (Isaac) from whom descended multiple millions “like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore.” Other “levers” followed, like Moses (“one person, and a reluctant leader at that,” who delivered the Israelites from captivity) and David, who built a kingdom. The New Testament, too, had stories of great miraculous acts created out of almost nothing, like five loaves and two fishes feeding 5,000, and the story of three servants and their talents. What, Morrison asked, did the parable of the talents say about leverage? “Some of the parallels
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are quite evident — invest what you have and multiply it; take your five talents and make five more, or in today’s money, take this $2 million and make another $2 million.” He noted that the story was not told primarily to bankers and wealthy merchants, but to poor fishermen and tailors. “We know that Jesus was not talking only about money but about all the gifts we have received from God,” Morrison said. “Don’t hide your gifts, your resources ... but share them and there will be enough for all.” That included hardships, which Morrison said could also teach important lessons. “When you encounter loss and hardship, as is almost inevitable in business, don’t be afraid, don’t bury it in the ground — learn from it and go on.” While development work often felt unending, recent United Nations figures showed progress, Morrison said. • People living in extreme poverty have dropped by 50% since 1990, from 1.9 billion to 836 million and the
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working middle class has tripled; • Undernourished people in developing countries have dropped by half from 23% to 12%; • Strides were being made in education, gender equity, maternal health and child mortality. “Near and dear to our hearts at MEDA, 6.2 million deaths from malaria have been averted since 2000, most of those children under the age of five. MEDA was part of that.” There was still more to do, and MEDA wouldn’t run out of work anytime soon, said Morrison. “Little by little we all can make a difference. Every life impacted is a difference made in the world.” MEDA’s reach to more than 36 million families last year was “pretty good leverage for an association of 3,000 with staff of 300 and revenue of $18 million to work with.” Moreover, he said, “Through all your business connections, employees and interactions with your community, the people in this room have touched hundreds of thousands of people.” ◆
there was considerable interest in our work over the past 60 years, and more recently with the Canadian-financed INFRONT project. This project is a unique combination of $15 million to provide a first-loss guarantee and enhanced returns to help attract private equity into the Sarona Frontier Markets Fund 2 LP, and $5 million to help MEDA and our partner, the MaRs Centre for Impact Investment, to provide technical assistance and mentoring to small and medium investee companies and equity fund managers. This model was touted as holding considerable promise to help stimulate the kind of private investment that will be required over the next 15 years to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals
approved in September.”
Further on the subject of
impact investment, Sauder drew attention to this year’s Sarona Values Report, which noted that the 137 surveyed companies where MEDA funds are invested provided training to 12,869 employees and paid more than $120 million in taxes. Eighty percent of these companies reported that they are pursuing environmental objectives, and 66 percent are pursuing job creation objectives. Sauder reported that MEDA staff and board members have been engaged in strategic planning for the next several years. Earlier this year MEDA received in-depth input from management expert Roger Martin, author
of the book Playing to Win, which presents a new model for strategic planning focused on making choices. “We examined our current strategy, outlined some possibilities for the future, and then examined them through the lens of reverse engineering — what would have to be true to make them viable. Six interdepartmental work groups tested the perceived barriers to success, including consultations with other organizations, funders and board members. “I look forward to helping create an association that engages all of our people in new and meaningful ways as we work to create business solutions to poverty so ‘that all people may experience God’s love and unleash their potential to earn a livelihood’.” ◆
Bikers edge climbers for donor dollars
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wo stars of the convention were Mary Fehr and Sarah French, who spent May to September cycling across Canada to raise money for MEDA’s GROW project (Greater Rural Opportunities for Women) in Ghana. Their infectious presentations captured the imagination (and generosity) of attenders as a good-natured competition for donor dollars emerged. The women’s journey began in Victoria, B.C. and ended in St. John’s, Nfld., a total of 8,710 kilometers (5,400 miles). Initially they hoped to raise one dollar per kilometer, or $17,420. “We suggested $150,000 might be a better target,” said Dave Warren, MEDA’s chief engagement officer. By convention the pair had raised $220,000. They declared a wish to surpass the amount raised the year before by MEDA president Allan Sauder and his climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which then stood at $286,000 but was bumped up by additional last-minute donations. Fehr and French spontaneously asked if 60 convention attendees would support Bike to GROW with
Mary Fehr (left) and Sarah French hoist their bikes to celebrate arriving at the Atlantic Ocean after a grueling cross-Canada trek.
$1,000 pledges. “We want to win, really bad,” they said. By next morning, the GROW commitment had risen to $311,000, eclipsing the Kilimanjaro total of $298,000. Fehr and French told the audi-
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ence of the physical and mental challenges they faced. “When things got tough we would think about the women of Ghana and how hard they have to work every day,” said Fehr. “With that motivation there was no way we were going to give up.” ◆
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Long tail of impact
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o illustrate enduring impact, Allan Sauder pointed to the Asian country of Tajikistan, home to a thriving microfinance institution that received timely help from MEDA. A recent tour with past and present board members had been initiated by former board director Verda Beachey to showcase the impact MEDA leaves behind when it moves on. For years Tajikistan was the poorest of the former Soviet Union’s republics. Independence in 1991 brought hope, but years of civil war and economic collapse reduced most of its eight million people to poverty. MEDA responded with a $4.5 million project (2004-2008), working with 3,000 smallholder farmers to boost fruit and vegetable production. IMON, a new microfinance institution (MFI), was started by Sanavbar Sharipova and Gulbahor Makhkamova, two women who had lost their jobs after the fall of the Soviet Union. They first started an association to teach business skills to women, then established a small loan fund which grew into IMON. MEDA connected with the association to introduce a rural portfolio, giving IMON an agricultural foothold. MEDA helped IMON evolve into a commercial microcredit organization, bringing the tools to create a loan product that helped IMON become a vital partner to farmers. Until MEDA came along, no one was lending to smallholder farmers in Tajikistan because it was thought to be too risky. “MEDA was also the first to directly invest in IMON’s banking vision,” Kim Pityn, MEDA’s chief operations officer, told the AGM. “We currently have a 10 percent ownership stake. We took the risk and put money into IMON when no one else would, because we could see the potential.” The Marketplace January February 2016
Today IMON manages a loan portfolio of $135 million, serving more than 100,000 clients through 26 branch offices and 113 sub-offices.
MEDA has had a seat on the IMON board of directors since 2004. Pityn, who is chair of the board, was instrumental in bringing major new investors: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a Dutch government fund, and Triple Jump, an impact investment fund. “IMON is now busy preparing to become a regulated full service bank early in the new year, so MEDA’s impact continues at yet another level,” Sauder observed. Today, IMON offers loans for businesses, agriculture, consumers, start-ups, rural household development, machinery and home improvement. It profitably serves over 100,000 clients through 26 branch offices and 113 sub-offices. It manages a loan portfolio of $135 million (average loan size of just over $1,000) with an at-risk rate of below one percent. Women account for 35 percent of borrowers. IMON, now the largest MFI in the country, received a “best taxpayer of 2013” award. Moreover, said Pityn, it received a Social rating of A+ from industry watchdog Microfinance Rating. “During our visit Sanavbar and 12
Gulbahor repeatedly emphasized the critical role that MEDA played in establishing IMON,” Pityn said. “Many of the key management positions among IMON’s 2,000 staff are filled with MEDA staff from our earlier agricultural project.” Beachey said one IMON client the tour visited had been living in a mud hut but with IMON’s help built homes for himself and his two sons. He was able to send the sons to university and they have since returned to join the family business. The tour also visited a farmer in a remote area of the rocky country who borrowed $5,000 to buy five hectares of land. “With a less than modern tractor and a few pieces of equipment he leveled the land and picked up the stones,” said Beachey. “He now has tomatoes, potatoes, onions, strawberries and apricot trees as well as some livestock. He has been able to build a well and watering system for his crops. He shared with us that because of that loan he is able to provide for his family, provide employment to others, give food to the poor and give money to the local orphanage.” ◆
Business for the greater good
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tourist development and “the community doesn’t always like everything you do.” Sheila Shantz spoke about a fire that destroyed the market two years ago (and reopened last summer). She was amazed by the outpouring of support as people offered to help. She said she “never would have imagined” the strong sense of ownership evident among local people and their degree of family-like loyalty to the vendors. Shenk said one of his most meaningful experiences was a company Christmas event for employees and he was struck to realize that “the way I run this business impacts all of their lives. It was a big revelation for me.” Tim Penner related an example of “the serendipity that happens” in Photo courtesy The Record, Waterloo, Ont.
an you grow a business while pursuing higher purposes like the good of employees and communities? Yes indeed, according to the principals of three family-owned companies at MEDA’s convention. The plenary lunch session featured families who view their enterprises as a calling and central to their stewardship. • Faith and Tim Penner of Harper Industries, which manufactures agricultural, hydraulic and turf equipment in Harper, Kan. • Ed Shenk (and executive Thomas Rose) of Weavers Hardware Company, Fleetwood, Pa., which operates two retail hardware stores and a commercial sales division. • Marcus Shantz and his cousin Sheila Shantz who operate numerous businesses in St. Jacobs, Ont., including the St. Jacobs Farmers Market. Moderator Dave Warren, MEDA’s chief engagement officer, queried the panelists about their greatest challenges and most meaningful experiences in business. A common challenge was to listen to and respect alternate local viewpoints. For Ed Shenk, whose retail establishments serve a community with “horse and buggy neighbors,” it was important to talk to different people and listen carefully to their concerns. “What does it mean to respect other people’s views?” he said. “How do you allow everyone to have their sabbath?” His colleague Thomas Rose added that dialogue was important. Marcus Shantz agreed that “learning to listen” was critical, especially in his business which includes
business. One day a member of Harper’s shipping department pulled him aside and with tears in her eyes said, “Tim, I want to thank Harper Industries for this job.” “Say more,” he said. “Well, we live in a very small house right now,” she said, “so small I can’t bring my wider family over to entertain. I’ve always had a dream for this one house, and that house is now for sale. I went to the banker and he said, ‘You now have the financial means to do it.’ Now I can have my family around my table. Thank you.” Penner concluded, “There are times in business that are very exhilarating, and you say, ‘Thank you, God’.” ◆
Meaningful moments: Sheila and Marcus Shantz at their farmers market during reconstruction after a devastating fire in 2013.
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The Marketplace January February 2016
The difference between us and poor people Most poor people don’t want handouts; they want opportunities to lift their families out of poverty. by Joyce Bontrager Lehman tion whose primary objective is to give every person the opportunity to live a healthy productive life. What struck me when I first arrived at the foundation was its five-word core value: “All Lives Have Equal Value.” Full stop. No exceptions, no conditions, no caveats. “ALL Lives Have EQUAL Value.” Providing increased economic opportunities for poor people had already been a passion of mine, but to be faced with that statement every day at the office, on our screen savers, seeing it carved into the wall of the new campus building I entered each morning, and hearing it repeated with every speech given by the leadership, I was challenged to think differently about the global poor. It’s a powerful statement, and while we all know and believe that every person is equal in the sight of God, I had to wonder whether I really believed it — or more importantly, lived it. This large non-sectarian organization caused me to not only think more deeply about the people I was so passionate about “helping” but also to set Why aren’t we poor? Because we were born lucky, aside my own preconceptions said Sunday keynoter Joyce Bontrager Lehman.
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overty is one of the most persistent and vexing of global issues. Before we all go our separate ways for another year I’d like to reflect on the lives of the people who live in poverty and who know so much more about it than we will ever know. For a decade and a half I’ve worked with organizations that want to provide poor people in the developing world an opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty. In my case, the specific mechanism is to provide access to the same level of financial services we in the rich world take for granted. I started this work with MEDA in its microcredit program, but over the years have also worked with other organizations to provide a broader range of services: micro savings, micro
Steve Sugrim photo
Joyce Bontrager Lehman has worked for MEDA in Afghanistan, then with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and now is a technical advisor on global financial inclusion. Here is an abridged version of her Sunday morning keynote address.
The Marketplace January February 2016
insurance, and most recently, access to payment and transfer services using mobile phones and other digital mechanisms. One of those organizations was the Bill & Melinda Gates Founda-
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Everyone has a story, like the driver in Lusaka, Zambia, who now has a better way to send money home to his family in the north.
and really listen to their voices.
There really is just one reason
why a person is poor. It is because he or she doesn’t have enough money to meet their basic needs, and we do. Poverty is an economic circumstance, nothing more. You might then ask, “why do they not have enough money.” To put it simply, it’s largely a factor of where and to whom they were born. We are among the fortunate. There are now over seven billion people on our planet; two billion of those live on less than $2 per day, so a family of four has income of less than $250 per month. That is the level typically used to define the global poor by the World Bank and other large development organizations. Another 1.5 billion people live on less than $4 per day and are at constant risk of falling into poverty because they have no margin to deal with the inevitable shocks that come their way, whether it is a health crisis, crop failure, natural disaster, or political instability. More than half
of the people in our world live with these uncertainties every single day. What is our picture of the global poor? Is it the crying children with dirty faces who appear on TV fundraising ads? Is it the tens or hundreds of thousands living in refugee camps in post-disaster or post-conflict situations? Both are very and tragically real, but all those millions together are only a small part of the poverty picture that is 3.5 billion strong. The fact is this: most poor people in the world work very hard and make very difficult choices to keep it together and just barely at that. Most do not want charity or handouts. They don’t want “help,” they want opportunities to help themselves and lift their families out of poverty. So, rather than feeling pity or even worse, being patronizing, we should view each person as an equal. Furthermore: We should have admiration. Most of the two billion who live on less than $2 per day still manage to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, plan for medical 15
emergencies and some even save for old age. Research for a book called Portfolios of the Poor recorded every single transaction of 250 households in three countries for one year, reporting on the tiniest financial transactions — a few cents each — and found that most poor people have surprisingly sophisticated financial lives, saving and borrowing, pushing and pulling cash transactions with an eye to the future and creating complex “financial portfolios” of formal and informal tools. You have to be pretty smart to manage on $2 per day because of course the $2 does not come in every day — a smallholder farmer may get her income only several times a year after harvest. I wonder how many of us would do under those circumstances. We should have understanding. I once sat next to a woman at a charity event for a different development organization where her husband was speaking. She said the problem with helping poor people was that there were already too many in the world and all the aid money was encouraging even more. I was too stunned to speak! What I should have said is that we know many poor parents do indeed have a lot of children to ensure that at least a few of them will survive to adulthood and care for them when they are old. But what we also know, based on research, is that where the global mortality rate for children under five has declined, the size of families has also declined. As families feel more financially secure and as women in particular become better educated, birth rates decline. We need to understand the circumstances under which decisions are made, and if you are inclined to make that kind of statement, you really must understand the facts. That’s what I should have said. We need to trust. We need to believe in the ability of poor families to make appropriate decisions. It is a good sign that many international aid organizations, starting with the World Food Program in Pakistan, now give cash rather than commodiThe Marketplace January February 2016
ties for relief in post-crisis situations, whether they come from natural disaster or man-made conflict. Not every family needs the same thing; some do indeed need food, but others need to rebuild or improve their homes; still others want to buy inventory to restock their shops. Giving cash not only permits choice but also stimulates the local economy with the purchases people make with their cash. I can’t tell you how often I’ve been asked — what if the cash is not used for the purposes intended? Intended by whom — us? We need to trust that the family itself knows more about what they need than we do. We need to be humble. We should never forget that we are rich not because we are smart or good or work hard — all of which may be true — but rather because we are simply fortunate. We are fortunate to be born in a place with infrastructure, education and the electricity to read and study in the evenings, health services, clean water and sanitation facilities. It is appropriate to feel grateful humility; in fact we should wake up every morning with hearts full of gratitude. But it is NOT appropriate to think that therefore we can tell others how they should live their lives and what choices they should make. We do not walk in their shoes. We need to have respect. There is no question that people living in different parts of the world have different traditions, beliefs, cultural practices, food and clothing. But we all have the same basic aspirations. We want to support our families, we want our children to be healthy and educated, we want to live in peace and practice our faith without persecution or strife. In this there is no difference and we need to view each person with the respect we want for ourselves.
I still travel to the developing
world every few months and I like to speak with people I meet along the way, like drivers and hotel room
The Marketplace January February 2016
attendants. Everyone has a story to tell, and the stories often follow a pattern, like the driver in Lusaka, Zambia, who came to the capital to work and sends money home to his family in the north. I have both a personal and a professional interest — how does he send the money and how much does it cost him? For some time he used a Western Uniontype transfer service, but then Zo’ona (a mobile money provider) was established with MEDA’s support, and now he finds that less expensive
You have to be pretty smart to manage on $2 a day, as two billion of the world’s poor do. and more accessible. Families often separate by necessity so that one member can leave to find work and send money home. These conversations are both interesting and instructive. One of the most profound lessons happened when I had a one-day stopover in Dubai on my way home from Kabul. I decided to visit the hotel spa, a microcosm of many of the wealthy countries in the region where most of the manual labor and service jobs are carried out by migrants. In the spa that day were 6-8 women from the Philippines who were doing the manicures and pedicures. I knew they were probably living together in one or two rooms to save as much money as possible. I asked the young woman working with me to tell me her story. She is a single mother with a 10-year-old son, and there is not enough work available in her home country to permit her to both provide for herself and her son and save for his education. She lived for that dream — that her son could continue his education. She had been in Dubai 16
for eight months under a three-year contract, and she would not see her son for that entire period. He lived with her parents and she sent money home each month for his support, worked as many hours as possible, and spent as little as possible and saved whatever was left. I tried to imagine what that would be like. When she was finished, I gave her a tip larger than I typically would, and I could tell by the way she said “Thank you” that something was a bit off — she seemed almost embarrassed. I quickly blurted out: “It’s for your son.” She stood up from the stool, looked directly into my eyes and said, “Of course it’s for my son; it’s all for him.” All of it — the time apart, the long hours, the cramped living conditions — made what I did almost irrelevant. As I was leaving to go back to my room, I realized I had broken my own travel rule — I never give money as charity, but am willing to pay for services no matter how small — for someone to spend time with me or give me permission to take their picture. What I should have done was to thank her for a great manicure that I could tell would last a long time and especially to thank her for taking the time to talk to me. If I had said that, then the money would have been payment for her services and not charity for her son — it was her job to provide for her son, not mine. But I had reacted to her story on an emotional level, and what I did was to make me feel better as though that would fix everything and I no longer needed to care. Too often we (and when I say we, I mean me most of all) do the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason. It’s really hard to get it all right all the time. And while not all of us have the inclination or the opportunity to interact directly with the global poor, the very least we can do is to acknowledge the equal value of every life and to do so with admiration, trust, understanding, humility and respect. ◆
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The Marketplace January February 2016
Reaching out to Cuba Recently relaxed regulations allowed visitors to meet local entrepreneurs and get a feel for what might become possible. by JB Miller
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Nelson Hoover photo
Nelson Hoover photo
hen most people think of Cuba and business, they envision a country where virtually everyone works in government-owned enterprises, and for most of the period since the revolution in 1959 that has been reality. However, more recently, the government has relaxed some of the regulations. Today there are signs of entrepreneurial life with 181 approved business ventures, including auto mechanics, computer repair, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and farming. Estimates range from 500,000 to upwards of one million people involved in these activities in a country with a population of about challenges with running their own 11 million. businesses in a highly restrictive enTo better understand these chanvironment. Difficulties in finding raw ges, 18 persons from the U.S. and materials and spare parts were recurCanada visited Cuba in November ring themes. Obtaining spare parts under a “people to people” program, for auto mechanics is particularly one of 12 purposes allowed by the challenging. While approximately U.S. government for legal travel one-third of the cars on the road to the island. The group traveled are pre-1960 U.S. automobiles, the under the auspices of Witness for trade embargo, or “blockade” as Peace with support from the MEDA the Cubans call it, makes it nearly Sarasota chapter. Jim Miller, chapter impossible to bring parts in from president, noted that the chapter the United States. In spite of these has been interested in a connection challenges, the owners did not seem with Cuba for more than two decades. “Our primary objectives were to better understand entrepreneurial activity on the island and take a tangible step forward by exploring a potential project partnership between an organization in Cuba and the local chapter.” The visit included meet- Havana is like a vintage auto museum: a third ings with entrepreneurs of the cars are pre-1960 U.S. models, many in who shared freely of their pristine condition. The Marketplace January February 2016
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interested in returning to a government job, citing the opportunity to improve their lifestyle and set their own schedules as big benefits.
Restaurant ownership was one of the first private enterprises allowed. Known as paladars, these establishments operate out of people’s homes, although once inside, there is little sense that these are private residences. One particular establishment, Paladar Los Mercaderes, located in Old Havana, seats 50 people. The cuisine and ambience rivals any major city restaurant. The owner, Yamil Alvarez, mentioned that the main dining room, a highceiling nicely appointed room, was once his bedroom. Seafood is bought directly from fishermen; vegetables for the restaurant are grown on a family farm outside the city. There is little evidence of any wholesale businesses that support entrepreneurs, regardless of the business. This was particularly evident
Nelson Hoover photo
David David photo
business activity is still closely tied to the government at some point in the value chain.” As for MEDA’s plans in Cuba, he stated, “MEDA does not currently have any specific program plans for Cuba. As the environment in Cuba evolves, we will continue to watch for opportunities Furniture maker Ariel Moriyon (center, in turquoise shirt) tells visitors what it’s that may arise to engage in developlike to run a business in Cuba. ing ‘business solutions to poverty’.” Many Cubans seem optimistic during a visit to the carpentry shop kitchen stove and oven that was fuabout the future. They have endured of Ariel Moriyon, an accomplished eled by methane produced from the many hardships over the years, but cabinet and furniture maker. Outside hog-raising operations. they are a warm, friendly, resilient the workshop was a large eight-foot While Cubans have limited acpeople, and proud of their heritage. log that he will eventually cut and cess to the internet, entrepreneurs They are happy to see improving reuse in his business. A newly comcatering to tourism are well aware lations with the pleted bed frame was ready for deUnited States. livery. When asked what he worries During the about, he said wryly, “I worry that visit, represenIKEA or Walmart is going to come to tatives from the Havana and put me out of business.” MEDA Sarasota Farming, during the period of chapter met Soviet influence, was primarily done with local people to explore A furniture maker project possibilities for the quipped: “I worry chapter. “We believe these that IKEA or Walmart conversations were a positive is going to come to step forward,” The home of furniture maker Ariel Moriyon, which his wife Jim Miller said, operates as a bed & breakfast. Havana and put me “and we look forward to more conversations.” of marketing and websites that can To further strengthen the relapromote their businesses. During one out of business.” tionship with the Cuban people, the night at a bed and breakfast in Santa MEDA Sarasota chapter is exploring on large industrial farms with overClara, the owner insisted that guests the feasibility of organizing trips to fertilization damaging much of the write a recommendation on the TripCuba beginning in 2016 under the farmland. Today, however, many Advisor.com website and that a four “people to people program.” Interestfarmers are willing to try new techor five star rating was preferred. ed persons should contact the MEDA niques including organic farming, Sarasota chapter at http://www. and utilizing vermiculture (worm Allan Sauder, president of meda.org/sarasota-chapter. ◆ farming) and composting to make MEDA, participated in the trip. “We natural fertilizer. During a visit to a met a number of very hardworkJB Miller recently retired to his hometown of family farm outside of Santa Clara, ing and entrepreneurial Cubans,” Sarasota, Florida, after a 24-year career at Everence. the farmer spoke proudly of the he said, “and it was clear that most 19
The Marketplace January February 2016
Reviews
The “red things” flowed Ed Nolt’s New Holland Baler: “Everything Just Went Right.” By Allan W. Shirk (Masthof Press, 2015, 131 pp. $20 U.S. $27.32 Cdn. Available in hardcover or paperback from New Holland Area Historical Society Museum or by mail order from Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society)
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ho’d have thought a modest Old Order Mennonite would change the face of
farming. Though many may not know the name Ed Nolt, just about everyone in agriculture knows the hay baler that came from his hands. His mechanisms made the baler a practical possibility and a resounding commercial success. Nolt, who never went beyond 8th grade, was blessed with mechanical skills and creative genius. As Allan Shirk writes in this biography, he had a gift for “expressing through metal what was in his mind.” As a result, thousands of farmers have found it easier to feed the world. Shirk came upon the story in 1964 when writing a student paper at Eastern Mennonite College. Nolt agreed to be interviewed but modestly stipulated that only Shirk’s professor be allowed to read the final version. For decades it remained unread by anyone else. When Don Horning of the New Holland Area Historical Society learned of the manuscript he realized Shirk was probably the first person ever to interview Ed Nolt about the famous hay baler. Surely that interview needed to be preserved. After more research and meetings with family members, Shirk expanded his early assignment into this book, and we are richer for it. Nolt had taken over his father’s custom threshing business in 1929. He soon realized he needed a better
The Marketplace January February 2016
way to handle the straw his combine left scattered behind in customers’ fields. It was one thing to collect the hay and pack it into bales, but something else was needed to tie the bales while the machine moved through the field. On existing balers the continuous stroking of the plunger packing hay or straw into the bale chamber interfered with the tying process. He had to stop the plunger action long enough to tie the bale while it was still under compression, and needed a knotter that could tie the bales faster. With characteristic ingenuity he came up with the devices to make it happen. Once he had a satisfactory version, Nolt worked with a local farm implement dealer to produce limited quantities of the baler. Success was just around the corner. Around this time some ambitious entrepreneurs bought the New Holland Machine Co., a small shop that had fallen on hard times in the Depression. They sensed that Nolt’s improved baler held promise for their reorganized company. In 1940 Nolt sold his concept to them and soon the baler was in mass production. It would become their major product and “key to their profitability.” Nolt, the brilliant but uneducated “blacksmith,” ended up working for New Holland, alongside college-trained engineers, for more than 40 years. “This was the beginning of a new chapter for the town,” writes Shirk. “In a few years, New Holland would provide jobs for many in nearby communities, and connect it to the rest of the world.” It “put the town of New Holland on the world map,” says Don Horning in the Foreword. 20
As Nolt prospered he began receiving requests for money. He was fortunate to have the wise counsel of George Delp, New Holland’s president, who helped him hold together his rural Mennonite community ethic with the unlikely world of corporate success. The book chronicles Nolt’s discomfort with being known as a millionaire. “I want to give my money away, so they can’t say I’m a millionaire,” he said. Nolt set up a foundation to formalize his already generous support for charitable causes. He remained frugal but finally adjusted somewhat to his economic status. When his wife hesitated to buy some new furniture Nolt assured her it would be paid for by all those “red things” (balers) flowing out of town on railroad cars. “Despite his wealth, Ed never forgot who he was or the people he belonged to,” writes Shirk. “Whenever there was a financial need in his congregation, Ed gave freely.” Even in retirement, while fishing on the Chesapeake Bay, Nolt kept churning out inventions, like a fish chummer to make bait. When he died in 1992 he held 61 federal patents. Over the years the U.S. patent office became familiar with the name Ed Nolt. Intrigued, they invited him to Washington. Nolt declined, so the office came to him. Eight patent examiners visited New Holland to meet this mechanical marvel and honor his contributions to agriculture. To the end, he remained a humble Mennonite, though one with a mind of a genius. — Wally Kroeker
Soundbites
Take 30 Several years ago, I started trying to spend 30 minutes a week with each person I manage. I give them 15 minutes to talk about anything on their minds, from work to family, and then I take 15 minutes to talk with them about things on my mind — normally their work and priorities. I also try to give them godly encouragement and criticism when necessary, all with the intent of building them up as workers and people. Yes, this takes time, but you will soon begin to see the fruit of this investment of time in the lives of the people you meet with. — Sebastian Traeger in The Gospel at Work
Your last day? For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “no” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. — Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, speaking to a graduating class at Stanford University
ism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business
Schooling pays Data suggest that if 10 percent more girls attend school, a country’s GDP increases by an average of three percent. Each extra year of a mother’s schooling cuts infant mortality by between five and 10 percent. — Roger L. Martin and Sally R. Osberg in Getting Beyond Better: How social entrepreneurship works
Strike once To light a fire doesn’t take the whole book of matches. If I can influence one young person then I can make a difference. — Tony Dungy, retired Super-Bowl winning coach
Be transparent Secrets are a lot of work. There are many people who call me a pretty up-front sort of guy, but up-front to me means transparency. If you don’t tell someone the answer, they’ll
make something up. — Agribusiness CEO Lon Frahm in Ag Progress Dispatch
Techno-thanks People are quick to think of mobile phones and computers when they consider their relationship with technology. But these are really just tools that help us access an infrastructure that runs passively in the background of the 21st century. Did you drive anywhere this week? Your car wouldn’t work without the technologies of oil refineries, robot-assisted assembly lines, and vulcanized rubber. Your commute wouldn’t work without roads and bridges and traffic lights. How are you reading this right now? Your computer requires the mining of silicon and heavy metals. Your phone requires the creation, transportation, and storage of energy. A printed page requires lumber mills and paper mills and laser ink.... I need to remember to thank God for the great and good gift of technology. — Marcus Goodyear in The High Calling
Good sale There is never a good sale for Neiman Marcus unless it’s a good buy for the customer. — Stanley Marcus, former owner of department store Neiman Marcus
Starting up
Unsung
[Most] entrepreneurs who start successful businesses don’t do so to maximize profits. Of course, they want to make money, but that is not what drives most of them. They are inspired to do something that they believe needs doing. — John Mackey and Raj Sisodia in Conscious Capital-
Spring has passed. Summer has gone. Winter is here... And the song I meant to sing remains unsung. For I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument. — Rabindranath Tagore
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The Marketplace January February 2016
News
Good concludes 22 years with MEDA Howard Good, MEDA’s vice-president for association engagement, left his position in November after 22 years with MEDA. Good was responsible for MEDA’s annual convention, local chapters, publications and numerous community economic development initiatives. From 1998 to 2014 he led the planning and execution of the annual convention, the most visible public face of MEDA and the largest annual gathering of Mennonites in North America. He also expanded the network of 17 MEDA chapters through which individual supporters could carry out MEDA’s mission in their own neighborhoods. Good drove the growth of ASSETS (A Service for Self-Employment Training and Support), a MEDA business development program which until 2008 operated in almost
Howard Good
two dozen locations from Canada to Mexico. Volunteer instructors provided “MEDA’s Mini MBA,” training some four thousand emerging entrepreneurs, helping start 1,350 businesses and creating 1,400 new jobs in the fringe economy. Under Good’s leadership MEDA’s collaboration with Mennonite Disaster Service led to the Back to Business program which assisted the Gulf Coast recovery from Hurricane Katrina. It provided training, technical assistance, small grants, loans and
accounting services for businesses ranging from commercial fishing to day care centers to restaurants. He also led MEDA’s involvement in the Compassion Capital Fund, serving as an intermediary for U.S. government faith-based support for 32 organizations in six cities from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh. In recognizing Good’s contributions at the 2015 MEDA convention in Richmond, Virginia, president Allan Sauder said Good “has an abiding affection for the Anabaptist church, and he always sought to inculcate its values of respect, grace and compassion into the witness of MEDA as well as his own life. Howard’s love for our mission, his attention to detail, and his passion for our members, have made MEDA better.” Last year Good took a six-month leave from MEDA to serve as national coordinator for the 2015 Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Harrisburg, Pa. In that position he led the assembly’s logistic planning group, which arranged food services, transportation, lodging and local tours. ◆
Audit trail reveals discipline, transparency
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The Marketplace January February 2016
Larry Hogg wasn’t sure what to expect when he signed up to be a volunteer auditor with MEDA. The accountant from Stouffville, Ont., has been a MEDA supporter since 2009 when he researched microfinance and learned more by reading The Marketplace magazine at his church. He found numerous areas of personal convergence. “I support MEDA’s values — 22
rooted in the Christian faith — and its mission to create business solutions to poverty,” Hogg says. “Jesus taught his followers that we ought to care for the poor and those in need; MEDA’s work is a practical, sustainable response to that.” He also appreciated the faith/ business encouragement. “We’re all unique as individuals and God has a unique purpose for each one of us — our experiences,
abilities and personality,” he says. “Why MEDA resonates with me is its emphasis on business as a calling.” Hogg had expressed interest in going on an audit trip, but the timing had never worked with the accounting cycles at his busy bank job. Then he met for coffee with MEDA resource development officer Marion Good, and he learned of an upcoming trip to Ghana, where MEDA operates a program called Greater Rural Opportunities for Women (GROW). Soon after, MEDA internal auditor Susan Schmitz called him. “By the time I was off the phone, I had pretty much decided I wanted to do it,” says Hogg. In quick order he was led through the preparatory steps and was impressed by the MEDA protocols. He was promptly sent materials for a visa application and was given a security briefing. On the field, Hogg’s training and experience in auditing and accounting equipped him to analyze GROW’s financial history. “It’s surprising what you can learn from an organization’s records,” he says. “I was able to observe firsthand that MEDA has a culture of internal discipline regarding the use of donor funds, just due to the fact that MEDA is willing to take volunteer auditors along. The key word is transparency — a quality that I respect.” A highlight was meeting the people in Ghana. As a work colleague had told him, “It’s not only the climate
that’s warm, it’s the people too.” Hogg was also happy to know that the Government of Canada is a major donor to the GROW project. “It made me proud to be Canadian and see our tax dollars being used in such a worthwhile way,” he says. — MEDA News Service Volunteer Larry Hogg (right), an accountant from Stouffville, Ont., accompanied MEDA internal auditor Susan Schmitz to Ghana to help with an audit.
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The Marketplace January February 2016
The Marketplace January February 2016
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