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The mPOWR fund: a sustainable cure for poverty

By Rachel Wegner 07

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Click Photo to Enlarge Eric Watt created a fund that gives ORU business students an open door to changing lives and learning innovative business techniques.

Click Photo to Enlarge Eric and his wife, Becky (pictured with daughter Kiersti and son Ian), began RUN Ministries while living and ministering in Singapore.

When Eric Watt 84 was taking business classes at ORU, he recalls having real-life business scenarios set before him for class projects -- but no real money to handle. Now, 25 years after graduating from ORU, he's created a way to give current ORU business students a unique, hands-on learning method.

In spring 2009, Watt donated an initial $10,000 to set up the mPOWR fund, which students will use to provide small loans to business owners in developing nations via microfinance projects. As these businesses grow, the owners will pay back their loans at a low interest rate. The money they return will then be used to help other business owners. The end result? Strong businesses that will benefit not only their owners but the economy and quality of life of the communities around them.

"I'm very excited about it and trying to recruit other alumni to join me in a matching gift so that the money can be multiplied," an ever-business-minded Watt said. "Students will have a chance to really dig into the business opportunities in the developing world and, at the same time, make a tangible difference in individual peoples' lives."

Watt gave this example of how mPOWR can work. "Sumitra sells noodles in the market. With funding in the amount of $300, she can buy equipment and supplies that will enable her to sell more. She draws up a business plan and is accountable to our field partner." This, Watt said, is one of hundreds of vetted businesses that ORU students can fund and then track.

Watt expressed that his time at ORU shaped him into who he is today, giving him a firm foundation both spiritually and academically. He sees the mPOWR fund as a way to give back to ORU and to help train a new generation of missions-minded leaders in the business world.

Armed with a degree in organizational/interpersonal communication, Watt launched Reaching Unreached Nations (RUN) 20 years ago. RUN trains and equips first-generation believers to start house churches and expand the kingdom of God in places that are closed to the gospel or restrict it in some way. As RUN grew, Watt observed the plight of many new believers as they were forced out of their homes and persecuted for their beliefs.

"What they really needed was an opportunity to have financial freedom," Watt said. "Through the revelation of the Lord, it dawned on me that I could help do something about it. We created mPOWR as a way to help people living at the last mile, to provide opportunities for funders to help alleviate poverty and fund businesses whose owners are passionate about helping their communities."

Watt sees the mPOWR fund as a win-win proposition, sustaining a rise from rampant poverty in developing nations while giving students a valuable opportunity to mesh missions with business. As the ORU Missions department has recently introduced business and development trips, the opportunity for microfinance projects has also increased.

"To me, one of the missing links in seeing the gospel preached in all the world is this integration of marketplace Christianity, where everyday people live out extraordinary lives, filled with the Spirit and sharing with other people as they go about their day," Watt said. "I believe that everybody's full time in ministry in every sphere of life. To me, this is just one way to do it. I'm happy to help fuel what ORU is about."

To learn more about mPOWR, visit www.mpowr.org. To get involved with the mPOWR fund, contact Eric Watt at eric.watt@earthlink.net.