In downtown Skokie, a small gallery sits on the periphery of the main street, bearing the words Yawaa’s African Market & Natural Products printed on a sheet of paper that acts as a makeshift sign. From the outside, the store appears plain, a case of “where’s Waldo?” in the sea of buildings and apartments that surround it. Inside, though, a completely different story waits to be discovered, one involving a treasure trove of toiletries and art brought back from Africa. However, for the owner, Sharon Walker, this store is much more than the sum of its products — this store is her life.
“You know, I enjoyed my lifestyle: traveling, selling my products at different shows and events and through word of mouth,” Walker said, her voice animated even as she gazes contemplatively out the window. “Until I was going home one day and the sign caught my attention and I could just feel it here.” Pausing, Walker gestures to her stomach and that gut feeling she is referring to no doubt still persists to this day.
Entrepreneurs like Walker are not uncommon; few, however, have sufficient access to resources, much less a store dedicated solely to their products. This is where Lending for Evanston and Northwestern Development’s (LEND) new campaign, Invest Evanston, steps in. Launched a week ago, the campaign is intended to not only raise $5,000 for LEND by the conclusion of this week, a sum its members seem confident they can achieve, but also aims to increase the civic sense and general awareness about Evanston’s economic situation on campus.
Proponents of the campaign, LEND members set up a booth at Norris, talking with students who are passing by, no doubt on their way for a daily dose of crepes or Jamba Juice. Instead, members ask these students to imagine what that money could do for local entrepreneurs.
“What if I told you, you can invest $10 once and that donation can be recurring?” Without even waiting for an answer, Sahil Mehta, co-founder of LEND, quickly continues the hypothesis. “Imagine that by the time you’re, you know, 26 years old, out of college and your loan might have touched 10 to 12 entrepreneurs. That’s crazy. Those five dollars, that one sandwich from Lisa’s that you sacrificed, you look at it from an emotional perspective, from an economic perspective and it just makes sense. It makes sense because it’s sustainable, and it works.”
Numbers are easy to throw around. However, with numbers like these, “it only makes sense for us to get involved in Evanston and fight for these people,” Weinberg freshman and fellow LEND member Gaurav Kikani sums up.
LEND does this through two mediums: business training and microfinance lending. According to Kikani, both are completely separate from one another. In the business training program, members work individually with entrepreneurs and help them create a business plan. This forces them to take into consideration elements such as inventory, their target audience and methods on sustaining business.
Microloans, on the other hand, are granted to applicants who meet the criteria set by LEND. Ranging from $1,500 – $3,000, the microloans have low interest rates, don’t require a lot of credit and thus are a lot easier for local entrepreneurs to qualify, summed up Kikani. Currently there are two loans out in the field and eight entrepreneurs going through business training.
“One of the big misconceptions is that Evanston doesn’t really need our help, that Evanston neighborhoods are healthy and well-off,” Kikani said. “But in reality it’s entrepreneurs in west Evanston that lack the financial resources to really get their business off the ground and running and really make a living.”
LEND is not alone in its effort to reach out to struggling local businesses. After meeting with representatives of the City of Evanston roughly nine months ago, the student group has been working closely with city council members to help the community. Alderman Coleen Burris, one of the city’s representatives, has worked with the group. “As a general rule, the city doesn’t do microloans. We do economic development, but I can’t imagine we’ll get into microloans and hand-holding,” Burrus said. “We just don’t have the capacity to do this kind of work.”
The young student group continues growing, and with members who are passionate about the cause that Invest Evanston is fighting for, this collaboration between Northwestern students and the city of Evanston can potentially do more than touch the lives of local entrepreneurs — it could foster better town-gown relations and encourage students to involve themselves in this community.
“Fostering a culture of collaboration, that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Sahil Mehta, the co-founder of LEND. “We’re just creating a platform for students to say, ‘I take ownership of my community, I take ownership for the problems right here.’”
When asked whether she was finding it difficult to compete with more well-known brands, Walker smiled and, looking around the room with what can only be described as pride, shook her head.
“Johnson & Johson, Nivea and all those other turkeys – they better watch out,” In the warmth of the alluring fragrance of citrus and oils, with music playing softly in between the pauses, Walker sits straight and tall before continuing, “because I have such potential, and I’m nowhere near finished.”