Blog Archives

Entry #30 Group-Lending in Tanzania: A Foundational Tool in Microfinance

10/7/2016

I visited the village of Naitolia in Northern Tanzania (near the Serengeti) in May of 2016 on a Michigan State University (MSU) faculty team. Our visit was part of an on-going Tanzania Partnership Program (TPP) that MSU has conducted for over five years, and our objective was to explore the potential to assist citizens of Naitolia through microfinance. During our visit, we learned that citizens of Naitolia are already involved in one of the most basic forms of microfinance: group-lending. It is a tool involving extremely small loans among members of a group. The loans are not enough to support significant entrepreneurial projects, but

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Paulette L. Stenzel

As Professor Emerita of International Business Law and Sustainability at Michigan State University (MSU), I continue to advise Spartan Global Development Fund, a student-driven microfinance organization, and serve on its non-profit 501(c)(3) Board of Directors. I also serve the community through talks on grassroots tools of sustainability.

I am also a mom, learner, writer, violinist, environmentalist -in-process, traveler, and avid reader.

Through research, service, and public speaking, I share information and perspectives on teaching, ethical leadership, and the pursuit of more sustainable ways of living and doing business.

Photo above: Francisco Vinega, Jade Artist, Guatemala, with Paulette Stenzel.
Contact me at [email protected].