MicroPlan is a proven program developed and provided by the international orgazation Making Cents. It is a modular curriculum comprised of interactive, hands-on experiential exercises and actions including business simulation, group-work, facilitated discussion and business-plan writing. MicroPlan includes four components: Business Basics, Business Simulation, Business Ideas Generator (BIG), and Business Planner. Business Planner is the Entrepreneur Workbook in which the entrepreneurs develop their business plans. Together, these components comprise a seamless, comprehensive introductory and advanced micro and small enterprise training curriculum.

The business class is a 40 hour class program that is taught by our managers the programs is called “Making Cents”.  It is designed to teach a participant the basic aspects of running a business.  All participants who want a loan to run a business must take this class. If they already have a business they can receive their loan but must take the class immediately after receive their loan. Those who have not had any business experience must take the class before receive a loan.

From small stall to city-wide distributor

Edwin Alvarado, pictured here with Dan Gifford, Chairman of Cause for Hope, is the candy man of Choluteca , Honduras . With the help of microcredit loans and especially the MicroPlan training course, he has gone from selling candy in a small open air market stall to becoming a candy distributor. He has a fine retail store, as seen here, with a warehouse in a location around the corner. He sells hundreds of cases of candy each day to local candy sellers throughout the city. He attributes his success to all he has learned from the small business training from Cause for Hope. "I can negotiate better, get better prices, and sell more," he says. "My wife and I want to grow and grow our little business."

Small Business Owner

Ervin Jose Nicaragua is a small businessman that repairs watches in his own shop. He complete the MicroPlan course of study to help him run his business more efficiently. He says, "Thanks to MicroPlan, I now understand how to manage the revenues from my sales better. I now save part of my revenues to invest back in the business to expand my clientele. I also sell new watches, and I am learning to repair cellular telephones. I expect to be able to expand my business substantially based on the principles I learned from MicroPlan." In Spanish >>