Guest blogger Lauren Withey is a research assistant for the World Resources Report at the World Resources Institute, in Washington D.C.

By Lauren Withey

It used to be that most U.S. college graduates, perhaps after spending a few years testing their penchants for various occupations or getting a second degree, would expect to settle into a consistent office job for the rest of their working lives. Attending a Microfinance Research Symposium at Georgetown University last week reminded me why such a smooth career path has become increasingly the exception rather than the rule among young job seekers today.

The Symposium was organized by FINCA International, a non-profit microfinance institution founded in 1984. Its first project was to create a group lending system - a "Village Bank" - in Bolivia. The success of this enterprise led to the growth of an extensive franchise network of these village banks, which now spans 21 countries, and serves over 700,000 clients.

The NGO's annual Research Symposium consists of presentations by the winners of a call for papers. The papers use FINCA's extensive client data, which is collected around the world each summer by Fellows, to advance the microfinance research agenda.

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