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How to Raise Money as a Business

Strategy Driven

Whether you need to raise money to fund a new startup or to expand an existing business, financing can be a complex process. With so many options available, it can be difficult to know where to begin or which financing option is best for your business. It can take between a few weeks to several years to secure financing.

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Can Impact Investing Avoid the Failures of Microfinance?

Harvard Business Review

Morgan projected up to $1T in investment would be deployed this decade — which would make impact investing twice the size of official development aid to the world’s less develop countries (as defined by the United Nations) , presuming historic levels of aid stayed constant since 2010. Lessons from Microfinance.

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Making Microfinance More Effective

Harvard Business Review

A major challenge for international development efforts is determining which financial tools provide durable buffers against such setbacks. 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.

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Women as Microfinance Leaders, Not Just Clients

Harvard Business Review

We're a network of microfinance organizations; we exist to share practices and develop the leadership skills required by a sector that has grown up fast. And as you might be aware, microfinance is a phenomenon that, while it did not set out to be "for women," has mainly turned out to be. percent).

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Global Entrepreneurs Need New Funding Models

Harvard Business Review

But many entrepreneurs — particularly those in the world's toughest economies — are still battling to secure the cash they need to launch and run their businesses. The White House has called this gap between the demand and supply of finance for small and medium enterprises a "market failure.[and]

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Funders Can Give More than Money

Harvard Business Review

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. And what does President Roger want to be when he grows up?

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3 Things Driving Entrepreneurial Growth in Africa

Harvard Business Review

In 2014 we described what Western investors want from African entrepreneurs. We recently interviewed 100 entrepreneurs to find out which ventures are most likely to thrive. Or there’s Nairobi’s SuzieBeauty, which develops cosmetics catering to African tastes at quality matching Western levels.