Investours

Investours is an organization that bridges the gap between microfinance and educational tourism.

It is a non-profit organization with operations in Tanzania. Investours’ mission is "to provide travelers meaningful cross-cultural interactions that empower micro‐entrepreneurs and directly stimulate local economic growth."^[1]

How it works

Investours is an international non-profit organization that leverages the resources generated by tourism to promote economic development in the communities surrounding Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In both locations, Investours hosts "microfinance tours". They bring travelers to meet local artisans who have applied for micro-loans to grow small business projects such as dressmaking, woodcarving, or food preparation. The tour group gains an intimate perspective on local culture and daily life while directly witnessing the power of microfinance. The group also enjoys a traditional meal and off-the-beaten-path sightseeing.

History

In 2008, inspired by Trip Sweeney’s idea that “microfinance tours” could serve as an effective alternative to slum tours,^[2] Ashwin Kaja traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico to conduct research on the topic. In Mexico, he developed a unique model for microfinance tourism that serves as the core of the Investours program today.

In Oaxaca, Ashwin introduced the idea for Investours to Carlos Topete, the director of a Spanish-language institute in the city, who was excited by its potential. Ashwin and Carlos worked together to establish a pilot program to test the idea, and so Investours was born.^[3] Over the next two years, the Investours pilot program ran dozens of tours with hundreds of tourists that provided interest-free micro-loans to over 120 entrepreneurs.^[4][5] This was made possible by a number of people, including David Kim, Lain Heringman, Emily Berens, and Kurt Mansperger. The pilot program was completed in early 2010 (Carlos Topete left the Investours team in February 2010 and is now continuing to support the businesses of participants in the Investours pilot program as well as new entrepreneurs in the Oaxaca area through a new organization called Fundación En Vía.^[6])

Formally incorporated as a non-profit organization in the United States in May 2010 (assisted by the Harvard Law School Transactional Law Clinics), Investours is now focusing on scaling its powerful microfinance tourism model around the world, establishing partnerships with microfinance institutions focused on poverty reduction. Anna Ruman and Ryan Pukos launched an Investours program in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in partnership with Se Mas Microfinanzas.^[7] Katie Ranhorn and Heshan Illangkoon are developing a program in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in partnership with Maisha Finance. Current directors of this Dar program include Peter Millanga.^[8]

Due to the natural evolution of the Mexico program, in early 2014, leaders decided to officially branch the Mexico program from Investours into an independent organization they called Human Connections. Human Connections is a social enterprise that maintains a strong relationship with Investours and continues to grow the programming Investours began: tours, internship programs, and academic seminars aimed at fostering positive cross-cultural exchange.

Investours Partnered with the American School of Puerto Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in April 2011, making it the organization's third destination in Mexico. Investours started the Puerto Vallarta tours in May 2011.^[9]

Publicity

In addition to coverage of the Oaxaca pilot program, Investours has been featured in El Sayulero (a local media outlet);^[10] INNOTOUR (a educational resource on tourism sponsored by the University of Southern Denmark);^[11] myKRO (a microfinance blog);^[12] and What’s Happening in Dar (a local publication).^[13]

See also

• Social entrepreneurship
• Microfinance
• Human Connections

References

"Bridging cultural tourism and microfinance in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania" by Nicole Lulham: https://web.archive.org/web/20140314125244/http://blog.sustainablecities.net/2011/06/21/bridging-cultural-tourism-and-microfinance/

External links

• Investours
• Se Mas Microfinanzas
• Maisha Finance

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