Fishing Rod Pilot

What is Fishing Rod? Why Go Fundme? 

This GoFundme was created to fund the pilot for Fishing Rod, a small-scale microfinance fund aimed at funding loans for social enterprises. Fishing Rod provides loans to start-ups or already established small businesses run by students or young people. These loans will be repaid on an individual basis, with the goal being to have all loans paid back within the first year in order to reinvest in other businesses within the same community.

However, unlike traditional loans that carry a financial interest rate, Fishing Rod loans will have what we call a “social interest rate.” This means that every month, in addition to the repayment of the loan, the social enterprise will provide a “social interest rate,” or proof of the impact the enterprise had during the given month. The social interest rate will take the place of an economic, or monetary, interest.  

Today, I am asking all of you to help me build this fund and subsequently provide tangible opportunities to entrepreneurs that are limited in their ability to grow their businesses.

What is the money used for?

All of the money from this campaign will be used to create the fund that will be used for the pilot.
That is, all of the money donated will be given directly to three entrepreneurs that will be selected through a process of four meetings with myself and at least one other team member, one open workshop, and a final pitch. 

Funding one entrepreneur will have an impact far greater than just the increased opportunity for the individual and their family (which is a large opportunity in itself). Because, unlike traditional loans that carry a financial interest rate, Fishing Rod loans will have the aforementioned “social interest rate.” Every month, the entrepreneur will need to demonstrate socially oriented work they do in their community via the resources of their business or their own personal expertise. 

Effectively, every dollar that you give will help fund not only the entrepreneur but also this person’s work in their community outside of the business. This can be funding a veterinarian working free-of-charge with animals on the street or a coffee shop that employs students and also provides scholarships to people from marginalized communities to attend a local university.

Teach a person to fish, feed them for a lifetime. Give a leader a Fishing Rod, feed a community for a lifetime.

 Become a donor for Fishing Rod, help create #realimpact

To see the work we have done up to this point follow us on Instagram #realimpact
To get more details on our pilot and team check out the Fishing Rod Website 
 
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The idea for the name “Fishing Rod” came from Trevor Noah’s book Born a Crime. In his book he describes his innovative business abilities and how these abilities were limited until a friend of his provided him with necessary tools (in this case a CD writer) to grow his business. Trevor Noah explains that knowing how to fish, or having business skills, is meaningless without a fishing rod, or the tools for the business. Our hope is that through Fishing Rod we can provide entrepreneurs with the opportunities to maximize their potential while also creating a positive impact in their communities.