Life Asset – Empowering Entrepreneurs | Creating Jobs

Life Asset will be auctioning off a number of fun and unique items from supporters as well as from Life Asset Entrepreneurs. The funds will go to provide microloans and training to more low-income entrepreneurs.

You can show your support by bidding or donating items. 

About Life Asset:

Our Misson:
Life Asset is a non-profit organization with the mission to help alleviate poverty in the greater Washington, DC area by empowering low-income entrepreneurs through microloans and business training, creating jobs and financial self-sufficiency.

Our services include:

• Small business loans
• Financial and Business Training
• Networking Opportunities
• Business Incubator
• Office/Retail Space

Clients served:
Our clients include unemployed (55%), seniors (23%), disabled (12%), single mothers (30%) and homeless (13%) entrepreneurs. Life Asset is unique because we lend to entrepreneurs who don’t qualify for loans from traditional financial institutions – and still we have over a 98% loan repayment rate (higher than banks).

The average loan is $950 and is invested in various creative ways such as buying inventory, supplies, and equipment (sewing machine, ice-cream truck, camera, or food processor), acquiring licenses (street vending, real estate, driving, or food handler), incorporation fees, marketing, website development, and more.

Some examples of our clients:

• Hillary received a $1,500 loan to pay for her street vending license. Her street vending business is now providing for herself and her two children.
• Mark received a $1,000 loan to buy a van to restart his old car cleaning business. The extra income makes it possible to pay for his recently increased DC rent.
• Working hard to get out of homelessness, Jose needed $790 to get his real-estate agent license and business cards. Three months later he closed his first deal and more business followed. Jose is now living in his own place.  

Impact:
By investing in the entrepreneurial spirit that already exists in low-income communities we are making a lasting difference:

• Provided 150 microloans, coupled with training -- creating and retaining 375 jobs (incl. temporary and seasonal).
• 33% increase in revenue as a result of a Life Asset loan and training
• 97% of the microbusinesses supported are still in business
• Increased business focus, knowledge, and networks.
• Significant improvement of credit score already after 6 months

The positive impact of our work is not just financial but also leads to a greater sense of self-worth and dignity, a sense of belonging, a more positive outlook on life, and hope for the future. We are providing opportunities for self-help allowing people to tap into their inner energy, creativity, and passion. The impact of our work is not just on our clients but also on their families and friends and the community at large.

Our Model:
Life Asset’s business loan program is modeled after the world renowned, proven best practices of the Grameen Bank peer-group lending model. These groups bring low-income entrepreneurs together bi-weekly in mutually supportive networks.

Next Steps:
Based on this positive impact and the urgent need that continues to exist, we are excited to scale up our program, cultivating and promoting more entrepreneurs and creating more jobs.

Our goal for the next 7 years is to achieve a client base of around 4,000 entrepreneurs. Our goal in 2016 is to double our impact by creating or expanding at least 200 microbusinesses which will create/retain over 500 jobs in low-income communities.

We are holding this auction to support our goal for 2016.