MicroMentor grew out of more than a decade of research conducted by the Washington, DC-based Aspen Institute's Microenterprise Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and Dissemination (FIELD). That research underscored the need for advanced, one-on-one business advice, especially among "microentrepreneurs" - those operating very small businesses capitalized with $35,000 or less.

In response, FIELD created MicroMentor to test an innovative method of providing microentrepreneurs with business advice based on a specific need - not geographic proximity. MicroMentor neatly fit FIELD's interest in seeding an innovation that ultimately could become independent or turned over to another operating entity.

Enter Mercy Corps--for more than 25 years, Mercy Corps has been accomplishing positive, sustainable social change by unleashing the power of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Mercy Corps works to alleviate poverty by giving people the tools they need to build sustainable economies. The agency supports microenterprise development in both the United States and overseas, and views MicroMentor as a tool to marry its programming with innovative technology that can deliver crucial expertise to emerging entrepreneurs wherever they are located.

On October 1, 2006, MicroMentor's transfer to Mercy Corps became official. Mercy Corps has the resources and infrastructure to help MicroMentor expand around the globe. Through the simple act of sharing business information via the Internet, we envision nothing less than MicroMentor becoming a tool that enhances economic well-being for families everywhere.

Every year, Mercy Corps' relief and development programs reach 10 million people in more than 35 countries. To learn more about Mercy Corps and its work, please visit www.mercycorps.org.