According to U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 250,000 service members transition each year from the military to civilian life and one in seven veterans are self-employed or small business owners. It is a widely known fact that the socio-economic dynamics works against the poor – they get pushed to the sidelines and become excluded from the mainstream social, political and financial processes. Once they are marginalized the situation becomes conducive for growth of poverty. It is a rut from which few ever come out on their own without outside support. Every ‘shock’ only pushes them business further deep into poverty and they find themselves selling whatever meager assets they still managed to hold on to. The mainstream formal banking and financial sector have preference for upper end clients and their procedural requirements, particularly of collaterals, makes them beyond the reach of poor people. Moreover, small loans or credits are unviable due to procedural expenses involved. The local money lenders in the informal sector generally charge exorbitant interest rates besides employing exploitative tactics. Once in their trap, the poor often sink further deep in debt and poverty.
