Bexhill College students become ethical investors to help relieve poverty in Africa.

Students studying A Level Business and Economics at Bexhill College have recently donated £105 to MicroLoan Foundation.
Bexhill College Libby SUS-190115-132420001Bexhill College Libby SUS-190115-132420001
Bexhill College Libby SUS-190115-132420001

The students took part in the Start Something challenge where they formed small groups, with each group investing just £1 of start-up capital which will be used to relieve poverty in Africa.

SEE ALSO: Cafe has been voted best in BexhillThey were challenged to use their enterprise skills over a two-week period to generate as much profit as possible.

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The students took part in the challenge, which helped to develop their entrepreneurial thinking and teamwork whilst at the same time, they generated funds which will be used to support women in sub-Saharan Africa to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Bexhill College Open Evening SUS-190115-132131001Bexhill College Open Evening SUS-190115-132131001
Bexhill College Open Evening SUS-190115-132131001

MicroLoan’s vision is a world where all those living in poverty have the opportunity to build better lives for themselves and their families. Their mission is to provide the poorest women in sub-Saharan Africa with the tools and skills to enable them to work their own way out of poverty.

Libby Philpott raised the most money by using her £1 to purchase a multi-pack of chocolate bars and then placing a MicroLoan Foundation sticker on each bar.

Using her awareness of the ‘Fair Trade’ logo being used to charge a premium price for other consumer goods, Libby used the MicroLoan sticker to begin a dialogue with her prospective customers. Rather than selling the chocolate bar, Libby sold raffle tickets for the chance to win the chocolate, emphasising the benefit of the money being donated to MicroLoan Foundation.

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The donation provided by students will help to fund female entrepreneurs like Margaret. Her life is undergoing a transformation thanks to the business training, support and loans she is receiving from MicroLoan.

She was one of the first clients in Zimbabwe and started a chicken rearing business with her loans. Margaret and her husband have grown and developed this business over the last year. Their daughters are now able to have regular nutritional meals and attend school.

Andy Pritchard, Head of Politics, Economics, Business and Law congratulated the students and said:

“It is satisfying to see our students take what they have learnt in their Business & Economics lessons and apply it to the real world.

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“Our students have learned that economic growth and the prosperity that it brings can be driven by the entrepreneurship of hard working and proactive individuals.

“The injustice of poverty is often linked to a lack of access to credit as opposed to a lack of creativity or work ethic. It is therefore, extremely heartening to see our students become global ethical investors and genuine change agents.”