For 27 years, a nonprofit agency called “Trickle Up” has been fighting poverty with small business. The group’s mandate is to train and fund the world’s smallest companies. It provides education and seed money for more than 10,000 businesses annually and finds that 80% of its grantees are still in business a year later. Working through grassroots agencies, Trickle Up gives grants of $100 to each entrepreneur whose business plan it selects. The money buys things like hair-cutting tools, seeds, and sewing machines. Although the majority of the group’s entrepreneurial projects take place in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, Trickle Up also gives grants of $700 to U.S. microbusinesses. Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein talks to Trickle Up president Bill Abrams about alleviating poverty through entrepreneurship
