article thumbnail

Making Microfinance More Effective

Harvard Business Review

The Grameen model of microfinance gained a great deal of attention in the international development field after early data showed that it was associated with high repayment and low default. Micro-insurance is not at scale anywhere except when heavily subsidized by government, a market we hope technology may change in the future.

article thumbnail

Can Technology End Poverty?

Harvard Business Review

If you believe the hype, technology is going to help us end global poverty. Berkeley researcher Kentaro Toyama has a blog dedicated to calling out naïve or inappropriate uses of information and communication technologies (ICT). To do that, it's vital that technology be suitable and relevant to the lives of its users.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Can Technology End Poverty?

Harvard Business Review

If you believe the hype, technology is going to help us end global poverty. Berkeley researcher Kentaro Toyama has a blog dedicated to calling out naïve or inappropriate uses of information and communication technologies (ICT). To do that, it's vital that technology be suitable and relevant to the lives of its users.

article thumbnail

How Social Entrepreneurs Can Have the Most Impact

Harvard Business Review

That year, two global headlines raised the profile of social enterprise: Mohammed Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace prize. You can find the answer to the timing question nestled among the facts that David Bornstein lays out in the preface to his book, How to Change the World. In the broader U.S.