Virtual library: Shurush launches Microfinance Research and Information Program
Research and information resources on the Web can be scattered and disorganized. So when it comes to microfinance in the West Bank and Gaza, Shurush hopes to be a source for the most relevant and current data from around the Web. Therefore, we have launched the Microfinance Research and Information Program on our website at http://shurush.org/research/research.html. Shurush will filter, organize, and compile the latest research and articles relevant to microfinance and economic development in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as general information on microfinance.

The program, spearheaded by Shurush research assistant Ovadia Labaton, features fantastic resources of interest to everyone from donors to microfinance experts to the general public. The links are categorized as follows:

- General microfinance
- Islamic finance
- Middle East microfinance
- Palestinian microfinance
- For microfinance professionals

In order to keep the site as current and expansive as possible, we want to hear from you. If you would like to suggest an article for posting, please email us at research@shurush.org. Shurush's Microfinance Research and Information Program is new, exciting, and constantly growing. Please check back often!

Special thanks and congratulations to Ovadia, who graduates from Columbia University next month.
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Bringing Shurush.org to the world: an interview with DDA co-founder David Katz
Shurush is extremely fortunate to be a pro bono client of the digital advertising and Web development firm Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), located just outside Philadelphia. Established in 1994 by husband-and-wife team David and Elizabeth Katz, DDA was one of the first completely digital advertising agencies in the United States and is now the number-one search-engine marketing company in Pennsylvania. We asked David to tell us more about DDA and why he was inspired to offer free website design, development, and hosting services to Shurush.

"In 2003, Elizabeth and I were watching CNN and caught [Shurush co-founder] Bryan Berkett being interviewed. We were so impressed that someone was trying to cut through all the hate, all the misinformation, to do something positive. We emailed and asked, Is there anything we can do to help?' What a remarkable thought that you all have: to try to change the reality on the ground."

When David and Elizabeth met, they were each in the process of starting their own small businesses -- but not in the advertising industry. "The day Elizabeth and I met, which is almost 30 years ago, we joked and said to each other, 'Maybe we’ll get together and start an ad agency.'" As young entrepreneurs, little did they know that their professional passion would become a reality.

At age 22, David and his brother founded four stores; they got very successful very quickly, and David found himself in the position of marketing director -- writing and directing TV commercials and designing advertising for their chain. But advertising was always his and Elizabeth’s primary interest, says David. "We went through the corporate world, did marketing for big manufacturing companies. Then I lost my job when the company went through a leveraged buy-out. So we opened a consulting firm 15 years ago." That consulting firm evolved into the DDA of today, now with 15 employees.

“In terms of digital services, DDA offers the most complete set of services of any company that we’ve ever run into in the United States. The advertising industry tends to be very fragmented; firms focus on a small part of the spectrum. We took the opposite approach; we believe that our company should serve all our clients' digital advertising and website needs. Technology became viable and affordable, so we brought it in house. The way this industry generally functions, a firm does one segment of a client’s work, then jobs it out to other specialized firms. They put a lot of layers of people between the clients and the people who do the work. A lot of layers. We try to have the opposite direction: clients communicating directly with the people doing the work -- all in house. We do every aspect of digital advertising. It makes our jobs much more interesting."

Currently, DDA has 200 clients in their stable, ranging in size from a half-million and $100 million in revenue per annum; the bulk generate between $2 million and $20 million. So what makes DDA so innovative? According to David, "We’ve developed a very special expertise in terms of search engine marketing, also known as optimization. DDA retrofits websites so they rank higher in search engines. We are the number-one search-engine marketing company. It’s an amazing world that we’re living in where there are entities like Yahoo! and Google that literally provide advertising to websites for free. That’s a total dynamic shift in everything that has to do with advertising and marketing. All companies need to do is position themselves properly and business comes to them."

That’s why DDA asks its potential clients: "Marketing in the 21st Century: Has Your Company Adjusted to the New Marketing Realities?"

Says David of working on the Shurush account, "It makes everybody here feel good. For the people who get to work on the site, it actually is a joyous thing. We are honored that we can feel like we’re helping at all. I don’t think anything else can have the impact of these changes on the ground. We’re really impressed with what you’re doing."

In addition to expressing our appreciation to David and Elizabeth Katz, Shurush is especially grateful for the hard work and creativity of DDA’s dedicated and indefatigable Laurence Penn, video and animation artist. We would also like to thank Director of Interactive Media Mick Horne, who was instrumental in the original design work, for his ongoing support.

Visit DDA’s website: http://www.dynamicdigitaladverting.com
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Ask the expert: Answers to your questions about microfinance
Last month, we asked Roots Report readers to submit their questions about microfinance. This month, Shurush spoke with Kelly Hattel, director of the MicroFinance Network (http://www.mfnetwork.org). MFN is a global association of microfinance institutions committed to improving the quality of life of the poor through the provision of credit, savings, and other financial services. Network members believe in using a commercial approach to establish and develop sustainable financial institutions that reach a large number of clients who are excluded from traditional financial institutions.

QUESTION: How do microfinanced entrepreneurs compare with entrepreneurs who start their own small businesses with start-up funds from family and/or friends?

KELLY HATTEL: Habit studies show that income levels have been raised through microfinance. Microfinance clients have access to a sustainable, consistent source of funds on which to draw to either maintain or to grow their businesses. Non-microfinanced entrepreneurs, if they have been able to scrape together the funds to start a business, are less likely to be able to get money on a sustainable basis from same sources. The whole idea of microfinance is not really to maintain; it's to improve a person's financial situation. An opportunity is something more than what you had before, and I think that is also an important element. When a microfinance client has access to a loan, that frees up his/her critical financial resources that can be spent on better nutrition, for sending kids to school, etc.

If you’re working only with the immediate resources available to you, in many cases this is a situation of basic survival; with microfinance, the money is coming from an external source, and you are responsible for repaying it. Microfinance clients are building a credit history; non-microfinanced entrepreneurs who get money from their family and friends are not building a credit history.

Many microfinance institutions complement their services directly or indirectly with business development services, financial-literacy training, and, in the case of regulated institutions, voluntary savings -- a safe place to put your money. Non-microfinance entrepreneurs often don't have safe places to keep their money. The MicroFinance Network believes that microfinance institutions should become regulated, where appropriate regulatory frameworks exist, so that they can offer savings and so that clients can use their deposits in addition to credit to support their business growth or in the case of emergencies.

As their businesses have grown, many microfinance clients have gone on to employ other people. In this case, microfinance isn’t just about income generation; there is a large potential for job generation -- which, for Palestinians, given the unemployment rate, is a key factor: You grow a business, and you need more people to work for you. Microfinance is contributing in a way that is sustainable. My objective is to improve people's lives. Microfinance is not the only means to reduce poverty; however, I believe that it is one of the most effective ones that we have today.

Submit your questions about microfinance to info@shurush.org
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Ear to the ground: current stats
For the past ten years, April 5 has been celebrated as Palestinian Child Day -- an important day, given that 45 percent of Palestinians are under age 14. Following are some statistics on the physical health of Palestinian children.

- Chronic malnutrition in children under five has increased to almost 10 percent.
- Nearly 100,000 children have less height than they should have at their age and will never regain the deficit.
- Recently, outbreaks of rubella and mumps have been reported in several heavily populated areas in the West Bank.
- Less than two-thirds of all children had the necessary immune protection against measles.

(Source: UNICEF)
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In the next issue of The Roots Report
- Building bridges: Shurush to launch a new microcredit loan program
- Shurush's $2 Campaign tally: how many people have contributed toward our goal of raising $20,000
- Ask the expert: submit your questions about microfinance to info@shurush.org
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