It's time for big business to help small businesses generate jobs. Through a fund called the Accion-NYSE Job Growth Fund, corporate donations can be transformed into business loans.

These are troubling times, as the spotlight on microfinance has recently led to unfortunate mischaracterizations and a rush to judgment.

If you've been keeping up with recent economic news, here's a familiar statistic: Small businesses are responsible for 70 percent of job creation in the U.S.

Despite the clear need and obvious benefit to our economy, ACCION and other microlenders have reached but a small percentage of the millions of microenterprises in the U.S. Getting the word out -- that we are lending -- is part of our challenge.

The recent IPO of SKS Microfinance, India's largest microfinance institution (MFI), was a watershed event whose ripples are affecting the public perception of microfinance.

Populist governments across Latin America are re-shaping the environment in which microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide financial services to low i...