VEGA works with citizens, businesses and government officials to help build microfinance institutions, assist organizations in developing lending capabilities, and train entrepreneurs in increasing their productivity thereby helping the urban and rural poor improve their standard of living and quality of life. Several illustrative examples may involve conducting market studies, developing management and marketing systems and establishing successful lending methodologies. Illustrative examples include: Providing technical assistance to improve the capacity of organizations that represent or serve the urban and rural poor, including organizational governance, program management, financial controls, advocacy, marketing, resource development, and constituent response; Training local, national, and regional governmental authorities how to assess the support structures that facilitate access to opportunities for the poor, for example, strategies on how to conduct participatory assessments and focus groups, and managing public resources for public good; Assisting government officials to create effective public policies pertaining to microfinance institutions, ensuring sound financial procedures and encouraging self-sufficiency; Assisting small and medium enterprises with quality control and marketing strategies that allow them to develop successfully, and to penetrate and avail themselves of growing market opportunities. This may involve the use of new technologies that create cost-effective production processes and expand exposure more efficiently; Creating management and outreach strategies with microfinance entities to help credit facilities target poor populations while maintaining sound banking practices. Specifically, volunteers can work to develop training programs with credit providers to prepare urban and rural poor clients to access credit effectively; Developing "knowledge networks" to bring together international expertise around crucial development issues, such as innovative approaches to education through the use of information and communications technologies; the role of intellectual property protection in economic development; legal and regulatory frameworks to encourage and facilitate the growth of the NGO sector; critical technologies for developing countries; and the ability of communities to retrieve, generate, aggregate, and disseminate information; Helping to conduct market studies, develop management and marketing systems, and assess products and technologies to meet the needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs in rural and disadvantaged urban areas; and Implementing microfinance and lending programs, and helping newly formed institutions establish successful lending methodologies and operations to assist urban and rural poor in accessing credit and providing increased opportunities to start and expand micro enterprises.

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