The majority of my responsibilities of my relatively new job in economic development involve taking trips to visit our 14 “partners” (groups of people who operate loan funds and credit unions) throughout
First, they are about the operation of the funds. This is a difficult discussion for me to participate in because I am not a specialist in running loan funds or credit unions or economics in general. However, I am trying to be helpful by learning as much as I can, especially about what seems to be standard here. I am also responsible for networking partners. Often a partner has questions and finds it helpful to talk to other partners who may have more experience and be able to advise the next step of development. This networking is also done at an annual economic conference, this year scheduled for November 17-18. MCC covers the bus/train fares of two people from each of the funds to get together (in Zaporozhye) and talk about issues with their funds.
Second, we talk about MCC’s strategic planning process. This is a relatively new process for them (and us) and has proven to be a bit difficult for many. I have not yet had the privilege of writing the original project “plans” (for the 5-6 projects mentioned above) with the partners, but I have my first round of this to look forward to in December. After that, twice during the year the partners are asked to submit “progress reports” which let us know how they are doing with their plans. It takes a lot of time and encouragement to get reports back, especially clear and open ones that provide sufficient answers to all of the questions. It has been my experience that many partners have a fear that MCC is looking for reasons to sever the partnerships and therefore documentation of struggles/failures with the plan will be punished. So another responsibility of mine is to encourage them. My feeling is that we look at things realistically and, as long as they are deliberately trying to make their funds function better, we will continue to work with them. The final step of the planning process takes place at the end of November. We sit down and write an “end of project report.” Reading this terminology also frightens many of the partners and they need reassurance that even though the “project” is ending, the “partnership” will continue.
During my visits, the partners and I travel around to the different loan fund recipients. I take pictures and talk to the people to try to document what is going on. This has been a great experience for me, even though I feel like kind of a tag-along. It is so interesting to see how far they can stretch such a small loan (usually between $200 and $1,500) and how helpful these loans are. These people have had little to no access to capital in the past and they are so incredibly thankful for this opportunity. I am by no means an expert in the area of economic development, but I am learning a lot and meeting some great people. The job has its difficulties but, after almost half a year, I am enjoying it.
