Harvard Business Review

MARCH 16, 2011

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.

Microfinance 15

Microfinance Diversity Banking Trends 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

Much like our team of engineers who are constantly testing for the best functionality of our products, our team for emerging markets set up a series of experiments to explore which distribution model functioned best in these remote environments. Experiment #5: Microfinance Institutions. Experiment #1: The Handi Shop.

Marketing 8

Marketing Microfinance Retail Development 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 13, 2012

And their intuition isn't baseless: As the bottom-of-the-pyramid concept shifted into the public eye and attracted the criticism of the development sector, the standards for judging the impact of a venture aiming to serve low-income consumers seemed to get a lot tougher. The microfinance industry is a rare D and E success story.

Microfinance 14

Microfinance Prahalad Bottom-up Banking 14

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

MAY 24, 2012

Take, for example, the issue of economic development. A hybrid approach is exemplified by startup Frogtek, which develops software for local shopkeepers in emerging markets to more efficiently track their inventory, leading to better purchasing decisions and greater profits.

Entrepreneur 15

Entrepreneur Microfinance Market Segmentation Incubator 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Yet unlike in finance, where distributing risk across institutions is the goal, in drug development the focus is on isolating risk. Although new drugs are developed for those with a particular disease, they are tested in a healthy population before they are distributed and assessed in a vulnerable one.

Banking 11

Banking Pharmaceuticals Microfinance Risk Management 11

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 21, 2013

Many in the nonprofit world call this technical assistance or training, while for-profit entrepreneurs might see it as business development, partnerships or even affiliate marketing. Additionally, cultivating the ecosystem requires different skill sets, namely business and product development, marketing, evaluation, advocacy, and training.

Venture Capitalist 9

Venture Capitalist Mentor Microfinance NGO 9