Media Credit: Jon Huang From left to right: Bryce Ramsey, Bridget Carter and Dustin Doskocil begin their four-hour cycling shift in "24 Hours to Empower." Starting from the Whole Foods on Sixth and Lamar streets, 24 riders will cycle around Austin to raise funds for the Whole Planet Foundation.

A total of 24 cyclists - four riders for each of six four-hour shifts over a span 24 hours - began riding around four courses to help women in Central America, Indonesia and India develop their businesses with micro-lending.

The Whole Planet Foundation and Students for Environmental Outreach, an Austin Community College organization, joined forces to create the 24 Hours to Empower Bike Ride.

Hallie Easley, development associate for the Whole Planet Foundation, said its mission is based on the micro-lending concepts of Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

"Our mission is to create economic partnerships with the poor in developing world communities that supply our store with product," she said. "Through innovative assistance for entrepreneurship, including micro-credit loans, we seek to unleash the energy and creativity of every human being we work with in order to create wealth and prosperity in emerging communities."

Micro-lending allows micro-finance institutions, or small banks, to give small loans to women in developing countries to invest in their businesses. Each loan requires no collateral and is very small - $150 on average - that is paid back in small increments.

"The loans are offered to the poorest of the poor and are given to women who are entrepreneurial with strong visions and aren't able to grow because of ethnic social issues," Easley said.

Initiated by ACC students, the bike ride, which ends today at 7 p.m., will raise money for Whole Planet Foundation. The foundation is a major financier of micro-finance institutions.

President for Students for Environmental Outreach Elysia Morrison said ACC students approached Whole Planet Foundation because they had the same vision for addressing

poverty issues.

"Micro-lending empowers women, and the foundation is unique in a sense that Whole Foods pays for all of their administration, so all donations go directly to women," she said.

Donnell Ocker, vice-president of partnership development at Whole Planet Foundation, said the loans are a long-term fix.

"These events are beneficial to women, because it changes their whole family for generations to come," she said.

The loans are given to women in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica and have an average 99.8 percent repayment rate.

"It's not a handout but a hand up," Morrison said.

Morrison said the group trained for six weeks, cycling through all four bike trails. Each rider raised $200 for the cause.

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