Mills Scofield

JUNE 16, 2013

This week''s post is by Andy Posner , Co-Founder & Executive Director of Capital Good Fund ( CGF ), a non-profit microfinance organization targeting the root causes of poverty through innovative micro-loans and personal financial coaching. Grant funding, to be sure, is an option, but an unreliable one at that.

Innovation 161

Innovation Microfinance Business Model Self-aware 161

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

A few weeks ago, I attended a lecture about microfinance, and got sucker-punched. Expecting to hear a litany of pros and cons about the business, and an exploration of good and bad models, I was instead greeted with a knockout punch: Microfinance doesn't work, at least not in the way we think it does. That's nice.

Microfinance 13

Microfinance Due Diligence Cost-Benefit Analysis Industry 13

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 22, 2011

The microfinance industry has in just a few years gone from making headlines for the Nobel Peace Prize to stories about limited impact, allegedly abusive tactics, client suicides, government crackdowns, major lenders struggling with insolvency and the forcible removal of Mohammed Yunus as Managing Director of Grameen Bank.

Microfinance 15

Microfinance Entrepreneur Crisis Short-term 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 8, 2011

On this 100th International Women's Day , it is right to reflect on how women have become the heart of the microfinance industry. It is easy to forget that the initial motivation for microfinance roughly 30 years ago was, to a great extent, gender neutral. Microfinance is about much more than extending credit.

Microfinance 15

Microfinance Banking Globalization Insurance 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 13, 2012

Business cost structures in low-income markets are daunting: Operational expenses such as distribution frequently dwarf the costs that companies face in developed markets, while customer acquisition and retention often demand unusually intense — and costly — levels of consumer engagement.

Microfinance 13

Microfinance Prahalad Bottom-up Banking 13

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 11, 2013

Six years ago, David and Donna Allman approached Opportunity with an idea that fell outside our traditional microfinance model: to build a Community Economic Development (CED) program in Nicaragua. We know that microfinance alone will not break the poverty cycle. Today, Roger is president of the school, elected by his peers.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Rogers Tourism Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Here, the protocols from other industries can provide some insight. The pharmaceutical industry also creates products with complex interactions and potentially dangerous side effects. The gaming industry has created much of the infrastructure required for both the learning and monitoring required.

Banking 10

Banking Pharmaceuticals Microfinance Risk Management 10