Accounting, Program Audits and Enterprise
Development
Log # 3
By: Marcial Zebaze
“One dollar a day one billion people." - Quadir
This was a very great week to be a part of the GLOBE program.
Having an education at St. John's University has been much more
than an educational experience and more of a global experience. As
a student in today's economy you are rarely given the opportunity
to advance your career or at least that is what the statistics
show.
Right now the unemployment rate is 9%. The best way to combat this
economic disaster is to take on the right factors. This week we
were privileged with the opportunity to network with Morgan Stanley
and Microfinance Club of New York. The event was tailored around
the devolution of authority and the evolution of empowerment. This
is an overlooked concept that can really scale the bridge when it
comes to a lot of economic issues.
As a developed economy we need to focus on the small entrepreneurs
and small businesses, as it is those sectors that stimulate the
growth and development of the economy. It has been reported that
this area generates 60% of job creations. With greater focus on
this area we can really improve a lot of developing nations.
Moving forward I can really see how this event will be beneficial
to the Accounting team and this event really gave me some
excitement to the progress within the group. I already had a robust
attitude about advancements in GLOBE from the previous class
meeting that was held with GLOBE alumni. Might I add how impactful
that class session really was. But after the event I am really
going to empower my team to move in a proactive spirit.
I was really impressed with the panel discussion that was held
at Morgan Stanley. From the discussion there was a lot to learn.
But what stuck with me the most was the concept of how productivity
is the cure to inefficiency and how ultimately if you are connected
you are enabled to do more. Which translates to me that if we as a
team are better connected we will be enabled to do more.
Finance and Risk Assessment
Log # 3
By: Akil Lamy
This past week in GLOBE was a particular exciting and eventful
one. The Spring 2011 GLOBE class made a visit to our class to share
their experiences and insights. I was really looking forward to
hear what they had to say about how they handle the challenges of
managing such a dynamic program. As the students walked into our
class, I realized the enthusiasm and confidence that projected from
the face of each GLOBE alumni. All of them appeared to be happy to
be there to share their side of the story with us.
The former GLOBE student fellows, Alina Rizvi and Marco
Sementilli, reflected on their trip to Vietnam. I was so happy that
these two students were able to get a firsthand account and
experience meeting the type of people we try to help in this
program. The Vietnamese people appear to be very ambitious people
who do not have the resources to escape poverty. However, they are
skillful, crafty and handy. I really do hope that we are able to
extend GLOBE services to Vietnam so we could help some of these
people achieve their goals.
The present Finance and Risk Assessment team met with the former
team and we were able to get a clearer understanding of what is
expected of us. We received pointers on some of the challenges we
could expect and tips on how we could really confront them. Being
the liaison of the Finance team is challenging but I feel like our
group will be able to make so many positive changes. GLOBE is an
institution that we are building and every group builds upon what
the previous group achieved and we will never stop trying to
achieve more.
Marketing and Fund Raising
Log # 3
By: Nicole Musco
For the first time this whole semester, I know exactly what I
want to discuss in this log. There are always a lot of things I
could mention in this recap, but tonight, after listening to Igbal
Quadir and Firas Ahmad talk about new advancements in Bangladesh
that can really improve the country, I was instantly inspired.
Aside from being a really informative presentation, where I learned
a lot of things I never knew about Bangladesh, it was also very
creative and quite humorous. Quadir had some jokes, and lightened
up the evening throughout his presentation.
Something that Quadir said that really stuck with me is
“Connectivity is Productivity”. He notes that if a group of people
are connected in some way to each other, they are more likely to
increase their own production in order to continue to pay for that
connectivity, and in turn advance themselves. When Quadir said
this, at first I did not quite understand how it related to
Bangladesh. I was skeptical about how poor people would feel the
urge to have phones opposed to other necessities, such as food,
water, shelter and clothing.
It was later explained that this form of connection created the
jobs, which leads to income and purchasing power. From this, the
people themselves can then decide what is important for them to
buy, which stimulates the economy. I’d also like to mention there
was a discussion about how in developing countries, giving aid to
the government directly is not good; the aid must go directly to
the people, so that wealth can be shared and not consumed. We as
GLOBE do this, and it was great to see that we are taking the right
steps to better the lives of entrepreneurs.
Technology and Communications
Log # 3
By: Shana Barnes
I found this week’s reading very interesting. In the book
Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the battle against world
poverty by Muhammad Yunus, chapter 10 focused on the issuing
of loans, but specifically for those in the United States.Yunus
stated, “Perhaps our two societies are different and thousands of
miles apart, but I don’t see any difference between the poor in
Bangladesh and the poor of Chicago. The problems and consequences
of poverty are the same.” This statement alone allowed me to
cross-reference with what we discussed in class, which was that
everyone defines poverty differently depending on their location
and situation.
I found it interesting, after reading the full chapter, those
who agreed to or asked about further steps to getting a loan were
all women. It seems to me that men were more egotistical about the
matter and didn’t want to rely on others or want others to know
they needed the help. Women just wanted to show their creativity
and help their family in any way possible. Muhammad Yunus just
wanted people to realize that no matter the idea, as long as that
individual could see themselves succeeding economically and being
able to repay the loan, the money was theirs for the taking.
Having that feeling of security was also a big issue. The
formation of groups where each member took out loans at different
times was a great way for entrepreneurs to encourage each other on
the path to success. It also was a great opportunity to make
friends and know that they were not alone.
Close friends or maybe even family, this was the feeling I got
last week when GLOBE managers from previous semesters came to visit
our class. They were there to provide us with guidance on what can
make us as a class and GLOBE better. They gave great insight on
what worked for them, what didn’t, and what we should try and
implement. They were an inspiration and expressed how much they
were moved by this class.
They also expressed how important it is to bond with the other
teams, because by the end of this class we really do become a part
of the GLOBE family. The presentation on the fellowship opportunity
was great. It must have been amazing to have a first-hand
experience. I think that one thing we should do as a class this
semester is to promote this fellowship while promoting GLOBE as a
class, so that more people will apply to a life changing
opportunity that should not be missed.