Overview

1
Overview

• Louisiana Economic Development (LED) and the
  Louisiana Department of Social Services (DSS)
  created the Microenterprise Development (MED)
  program to provide self-employment training that
  gives entrepreneurs the competitive edge needed
  to succeed
• Southern University Center for Social Research
  (CSR) and the IDA program community partners,
  participating financial institutions and sponsors
  created an effective method to provide matched
  savings for asset purchases.
• The collaboration (CSR, DSS and LED) are working
  together to integrate the MED program and the IDA
  program to assist working individuals to
  establish their own businesses.

2
Overview

• The collaboration will
• Develop an efficient method to integrate MED
  training and access to IDA resources
• Provide an innovative path out of poverty
• Create self-sufficiency
• Improve the survival rate of microenterprise
  businesses
• Improve employment skills
• Promote economic development
• Provide participants professional development,
  financial education and business development and
  maintenance training

3
Tentative Process

• Micro-Enterprise Development Program (managed by
  LED)
• TANF funded program
• For businesses
• with five or fewer employees
• require 35,000 or less in startup capital
• dont have access to the traditional commercial
  banking sector

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Tentative Process

• Apply to LED for the Micro-Enterprise Development
  (MED) Program
• Application
• available from LED (225.342.5667)
• Micro-Enterprise Development Centers
• Eligibility (determined by LED)
• Must be a parent or related caretaker of minor
  children
• Receive Family Independence Temporary Assistance
  Program (FITAP), Kinship Care Subside Program
  (KCSP) payments, free/reduced school lunch, food
  stamps, Medicaid or Louisianas Children Health
  Insurance Program (LaChip) and
• Household income is no more than 200 percent of
  the federal poverty level

5
Tentative Process

• When accepted into MED program, LED trainers
  provide
• comprehensive assessment
• A two-to-three month business development course
  (length of course under review) that includes
• Personal effectiveness
• Financial education
• Entrepreneurship training including writing a
  business plan
• Technical assistance
• During the training process, LED will pass MED
  application to Southern University for client to
  start IDA process
• LED will provide Southern University
• notification when participant has completed
  training
• list of authorized purchases

6
Tentative Process

• Upon referral to Southern University
• Community partner and client contacted and
  connected
• Community partner works with client
• Complete remaining items for IDA application
  (information not already included from MED
  program)
• Establish savings goal
• Open IDA custodial savings account (must be done
  within 10 business days of notification)
• Community partner works with client
• Provide case management to assist client meet
  savings goal or other actions
• Collect receipts of authorized purchases from
  client and provide to Center for Social Research
• Provide 41 match with a maximum savings of 500

7
Tentative Process

• Community partner financial assistance for case
  management
• Under review and will depend upon final
  agreements/contract from DSS

8
Current Status

• MED program (managed by LED)
• Available today
• Applications being accepted by LED or MED
  training sites
• Clients already in training
• Some clients have already completed training
• Micro-Enterprise IDA program (managed by
  Southern University)
• Details still being finalized with DSS and LED
• Earliest start October 1 with new DSS IDA
  contract
• IDA administration and data base will be revised
  to support
• Additional community partner training will be
  provided when process finalized and approved

9
Key Geographical Areas

• Current Micro-Enterprise Development Training
  Centers
• Good Work Network, New Orleans
• Microbusiness Enterprise Corporation of
  Ascension, Gonzales
• Renewal, Inc., Monroe
• Shreveport-Bossier African American Chamber of
  Commerce, Shreveport
• Southwest Louisiana Partnership for Economic
  Development, Lake Charles
• Will be identifying partners to
• Work with Micro-Enterprise Development Training
  Centers to assist clients
• Work with clients (anticipate most clients
  initially will be geographically located within
  reasonable driving distance of Micro-Enterprise
  Training Centers)

10
Participating Financial Institutions

• Opportunity to open IDA to business ventures
• Link successful micro-enterprises to traditional
  business resources
• Increase access to working families with
  successful business starts
• Reduce financial institution risk when assisting
  business starts or improvements

11
Micro-Enterprise Development IDA

• Questions

12
Micro-Enterprise IDA Program

• Thank you
• Contact information
• Mary Joseph (IDA Program Manager) or William Hawn
  (Program Coordinator for Micro-Enterprise IDA)
• mary_e_joseph_at_subr.edu or william_hawn_at_subr.edu
• 225.771.4714
• Fax [phone]

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Louisiana Asset Building Initiative

• Southern University
• Center for Social Research