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Guest Post: An Entrepreneur's Thoughts on Market Incentives & Foreign Aid

Mills Scofield

Thoughts on Charity, Foreign Aid and Market Incentives - Tanzania. There is much in common between this and Dan Pollata’s arguments, which state that nonprofit leaders should be allowed to earn large salaries if it draws in productivity (or funds) that were otherwise unavailable to the social sector. I am undecided about this.

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How Can I Start My Own Business?

Strategy Driven

Conducting market research along with taking the time to do a full competitive analysis as it pertains to your business is vital to the success of your company. As you do your research, use the questions below as your guide: Is there a demand for the product or service your company offers? Who is your target consumer?

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How to Raise Money as a Business

Strategy Driven

You should also prepare some insights about your market and competition. For some products such as a cash advance loan , this may be available in just a few days or hours, but it often comes with a high interest rate. Corporate partnerships and sponsorships that provide funding in exchange for marketing or other benefits

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Innovating The Brick-and-Mortar Injustice Infrastructure

Mills Scofield

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.

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Can Impact Investing Avoid the Failures of Microfinance?

Harvard Business Review

Impact investors over the past decade largely focused on proving that impact investments could achieve a “market rate” or above return profile. Making something wildly profitable will of course attract the attention of financial markets, and thus increase the chances it will scale effectively. Lessons from Microfinance.

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Making Microfinance More Effective

Harvard Business Review

While meeting this challenge is a clear priority for policy makers and donors, it is also a major profit opportunity for commercial players who can solve market failures and create real value. Our findings are captured in a working paper which we summarize below. This model makes small loans, usually to women, without requiring collateral.

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Under Fire, Microfinance Faces Falling Out of Favor

Harvard Business Review

Microfinance has come under fire in the past 18 months, triggered in part by SKS Microfinance's IPO. Critics complain that the institutions supporting microfinance have become too greedy, and many are using this as an argument to deeply regulate or, even more, cut support to microfinance operations. I hope not.