12 Peer-to-Peer Microfinance: A Sustainable Solution to Poverty
Modern Servant Leader
DECEMBER 10, 2010
Microfinance Related Topics 
Learning from Microfinance's Woes
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. The pugilist-presenter was David Roodman, a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the author of a new book, Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance.
Innovating The Brick-and-Mortar Injustice Infrastructure
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.
Making Microfinance More Effective
Harvard Business Review
OCTOBER 5, 2016
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. For the 2.5 billion people who live on less than $2 per day , shocks such as illness, crop failures, livestock deaths, farming-equipment breakdowns and even wedding or funeral expenses can be enough to tip them, their families, or even an entire community below the poverty line.
Can Impact Investing Avoid the Failures of Microfinance?
Harvard Business Review
JUNE 8, 2018
Impact investing can learn from the history of microfinance — the provision of debt and other financial services to the poor — an industry that was at a similar stage 15 years ago. Fortunately, impact investors have the opportunity to think more creatively over the next decade, as long as they learn from past mistakes in microfinance. Lessons from Microfinance. First, does microfinance help people, and if so, how much? Erik Dreyer/Getty Images.
The Microfinance Contagion Scenario
Harvard Business Review
JUNE 10, 2011
So far, the Andhra Pradesh (AP) microfinance crisis has largely been viewed as a local issue, with relatively little impact beyond AP or India's borders. Other microfinance crises, in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Bosnia, have not spread beyond the borders of a particular country. In a recent paper, Jonathan Morduch and Jonathan Conning explain the role of debt and equity financing in the microfinance industry.
Women as Microfinance Leaders, Not Just Clients
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. It's vital to reverse the trend and help microfinance institutions attract, train, and retain talented women. Diversity Gender microfinance WWB
Lessons for Social Entrepreneurs from the Microfinance Crisis
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. But we shouldn't ignore how the microfinance industry made itself vulnerable to attacks with a political motive.
I'm a bank - well, with the help of Kiva.org!
Jason Womack
SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
Intercontinental Ballistic Microfinance from Kiva Microfunds on Vimeo. What happens when 620,000 lenders fund 615,000 entrepreneurs, students, and other microfinance borrowers around the world?
Microfinance Is Good for Women, but It's Only Part of the Solution
Harvard Business Review
NOVEMBER 27, 2012
Career paths are not one-size-fits-all, yet in emerging markets, it's often assumed that microfinance — the use of small loans to foster self-reliant small businesses in a community setting — is the only path for women seeking economic opportunity. Microfinance has accomplished tremendous things and helped millions of women launch their own businesses; however, it is not a complete means of economically empowering women. Microfinance was one issue that we considered.
Book Review: The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook
Chartered Management Institute
SEPTEMBER 29, 2011
Rupert is the CEO of the foundation for International Community Assistance, a leading microfinance institution. The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook by Rupert Scofield is written to guide the aspiring social entrepreneur through the full range of activities of starting, building and running a social business. Review by David Stephens FCMI. You are not watching this post, click to start watching
Banking on Women and Girls: Key to Global Poverty Alleviation
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. The pioneering microfinance institutions sought to provide credit to poor entrepreneurs who had no assets to pledge as collateral and, consequently, were denied access to capital by the formal banking sector.
Guest Post: An Entrepreneur's Thoughts on Market Incentives & Foreign Aid
Mills Scofield
AUGUST 27, 2012
One of his main tasks was to structure a hedging derivative that negated foreign exchange risks so that Microfinance institutions could take safer loans from the developed world. This is a guest blog by Chia Han Sheng, Brown University '14, co-founder of MedInternational.
Why CEOs have Liberal Arts Degrees
Mills Scofield
MAY 5, 2015
She's spending the summer in Dhaka doing microfinance. Some of today's top CEOs were history, political science, sociology, chinese and music majors in college. They are leading global airline, chemical, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and financial companies, among others.
What is the best way to make a difference in the world?
CO2
JUNE 4, 2012
My solution was to found a microfinance organization that puts women in a position to create their own destinies and achieve their full potential. This question is at the heart of Jacqueline Novogratz’s inspirational book, The Blue Sweater.
Why CEOs have Liberal Arts Degrees
Mills Scofield
MAY 5, 2015
She's spending the summer in Dhaka doing microfinance. Some of today's top CEOs were history, political science, sociology, chinese and music majors in college. They are leading global airline, chemical, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and financial companies, among others.
Servant Leadership Observer ? November 2010
Modern Servant Leader
NOVEMBER 18, 2010
Peer-to-Peer Microfinance: A Sustainable Solution to Poverty. Twitter. LINKEDIN. The Modern Servant Leader Servant Leadership & Technology. Leadership. Technology. Resources. Other. Archives. September 20, 2011 Servant Leadership. Servant Leadership Intro. Servant Leader Posts. Assessment.
How Large NGOs Are Using Data to Transform Themselves
Harvard Business Review
MAY 18, 2016
A critical part was adapting a proven model in a related field: microfinance. By increasing or jump-starting these institutions’ housing microfinance lending, Habitat aims to create robust markets for this financing that can continue on their own.
Can Technology End Poverty?
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 22, 2013
Shameran Abed, who runs BRAC's microfinance program, explains what happened: "In the first couple months, a lot of our borrowers would send the money through their mobile phones and then physically show up at the branch to check with the accountant that the money had turned up.".
Businesses Serving the Poor Need to Get Over Their Unease About Profit
Harvard Business Review
JUNE 13, 2012
The microfinance industry is a rare D and E success story. Microfinance banks, which provide desperately needed loans to low-income consumers, draw mainstream investors because of their attractive returns. Mexico-based Compartamos , a microfinance bank that sold 35% of the company for $450 million in 2007, generates a NIM of around 60%.
Funders Can Give More than Money
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. It called for leveraging the profits of the global microfinance institution, and coupling them with private investments from the Allmans and their donor network. We know that microfinance alone will not break the poverty cycle.
Global Entrepreneurs Need New Funding Models
Harvard Business Review
APRIL 4, 2012
We wanted to do this because we recognize that small enterprises are a very significant engine for development; they create employment, which tends to be more sustainable and better paid than you would find in the more informal microfinance sector," says Oxfam's Nicholas Colloff. Some microfinance organizations are also moving out of the purely micro and toward larger lending.
The Innovation Mindset in Action: Shantha Ragunathan
Harvard Business Review
AUGUST 1, 2013
Sasikala, a Block Development Officer (BDO), talked to the Kodapattinam villagers about microfinance , only Shantha, of all the villagers, saw the opportunity and took action. To participate in a microfinance campaign, the village had to form a Self Help Group (SHG) of about 20 people, with each member contributing a certain amount of money every month. Undeterred, Shantha persisted until she persuaded the required number of people to sign up for the microfinance project.
An Approach to Ending Poverty That Works
Harvard Business Review
JANUARY 22, 2015
” Microfinance and other market-based interventions don’t generally reach them. Ending extreme poverty by 2030 is the BHAG – the big, hairy audacious goal – of our generation.
How One Startup Developed a Sales Model That Works in Emerging Markets
Harvard Business Review
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
Experiment #5: Microfinance Institutions. In emerging markets, microfinance has been a key economic engine in helping low-income households fund businesses and other important purchases in daily life. Prem, a BioLite Burner on our West India team, gives a HomeStove demonstration to a group of customers at a microfinance branch in Rajasthan.
Entrepreneurship Needs to Be a Bigger Part of U.S. Foreign Aid
Harvard Business Review
AUGUST 15, 2016
These colossal “beltway bandits” work everywhere from Afghanistan to Zambia and purport to offer expertise in everything from microfinance to micro-irrigation. Here are two surprising facts. First, the average American estimates that over 25% of the U.S.
What Makes Social Entrepreneurs Different
Harvard Business Review
JANUARY 11, 2013
Social entrepreneurs have also been some of the most attentive followers of the academic debate between the likes of Mark Pitt and Jonathan Murdoch about whether microfinance really helps reduce poverty.
Scaling Up Without Losing Your Edge
Harvard Business Review
JANUARY 18, 2013
Following Abed's twist on Schumacher — "small may be beautiful, but big is necessary" — it now touches the lives of an estimated 126 million people with healthcare, education, enterprise development, microfinance and a slew of other programs. Forty years ago, British economist E.F.
Can Technology End Poverty?
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 22, 2013
Shameran Abed, who runs BRAC's microfinance program, explains what happened: "In the first couple months, a lot of our borrowers would send the money through their mobile phones and then physically show up at the branch to check with the accountant that the money had turned up.".
The 3 Preconditions for an Entrepreneurial Society
Harvard Business Review
AUGUST 17, 2016
And if you need access to money, crowdfunding platforms and microfinance options make that easier than ever.
3 Things Driving Entrepreneurial Growth in Africa
Harvard Business Review
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Firms are realizing what microfinance has known for a while: Local self-policing groups, or village headmen who police honor codes, can hedge cash flows in far-flung places. Fatigue may be setting in for some Western investors’ interest in African innovation, particularly those that have yet to reap rewards to brag about.
The Conference That’s Trying to Reinvent How We Network
Harvard Business Review
OCTOBER 8, 2015
When those in the group that had the job givers question pulled off their masks, they discovered that Muhammad Yunus , a Nobel Prize winner for his microfinance work, had been with them, listening carefully to all their suggestions. C2 Montréal’s outdoor plaza at night.
How to Create Youth Jobs After Conflicts
Harvard Business Review
DECEMBER 2, 2010
Upon graduation, the governments, nonprofits, or (more recently) microfinance companies give them loans to buy tools and opens shops. On December 2-3, the United Nations will host a seminar in Sierra Leone on "Strategies and Lessons Learned on Sustainable Reintegration and Job Creation: What Works in West Africa?" It will bring together government, civil society, and private sector representatives from Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
How Social Entrepreneurs Can Have the Most Impact
Harvard Business Review
MAY 2, 2014
Or consider Kwabena Darko of Ghana, who helped found that country’s microfinance sector by forging a collaboration between global NGO Opportunity International , his national startup Sinapi Aba , and a myriad of village- and town-based trust groups. Social enterprise in the U.S. is a fast-growing, but fragmented, movement.
Give Impact Investing Time and Space to Develop
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 17, 2014
We allowed microfinance and the venture capital industry the time and space to develop over a few decades. Impact investing has captured the world’s imagination. Just six years after the Rockefeller Foundation coined the term, the sector is booming.
It Takes a Village to Raise an Entrepreneur
Harvard Business Review
MAY 24, 2012
Commercial microfinance organizations are perhaps the best-known hybrid organizations, but social entrepreneurs now use hybrid models to address a diverse set of social issues that includes hunger, healthcare, economic development, environment, education, housing, culture, law, and politics.
Making Sense of the Many Kinds of Impact Investing
Harvard Business Review
JANUARY 28, 2016
Currently, impact can mean anything from venture investments in new health technologies to microfinance loans in Peru; from affordable housing in the US to renewable energy in India; from social impact bonds to private equity funds that create jobs.
The Smart Way to Make Profits While Serving the Poor
Harvard Business Review
JUNE 20, 2012
Grameen Bank, the microfinance bank in Bangladesh, is well known for its use of peer groups: Self-formed clubs of five to 10 people, usually women, share responsibility for microloans. Most companies trying to do business with the 4 billion people who make up the world's poor follow a formula long touted by bottom-of-the-pyramid experts: Offer products at extremely low prices and margins, and hope to generate decent profits by selling enormous quantities of them.
Facebook Presence Is an Important Clue to a Social Venture's Future
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 4, 2013
This makes sense to Milaap.org , a social enterprise in Bangalore that crowdsources low-cost capital for microfinance institutions through its online platform.
Entrepreneurs: You're More Important Than Your Business Plan
Harvard Business Review
FEBRUARY 18, 2013
We are proud to have made early investments in the work of Andrew Youn, who founded One Acre Fund; Wendy Kopp, who founded Teach for America; and Vikram Akula, who founded SKS Microfinance. "Would you take a look at my business plan?".
Transforming Rural India Through Agricultural Innovation
Harvard Business Review
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
Over 1,900 beneficiaries have established micro-enterprises for which microfinance has been facilitated. With a majority of its population living in villages, rural poverty is a major problem in India. The disparity between the urban and rural incomes is also on the rise. This leads to migration to urban areas resulting in urban blight as well. Therefore addressing the problem of rural poverty assumes urgency.
Using Games to Get a Handle on Bank Risk
Harvard Business Review
OCTOBER 13, 2011
Popular games also tend to spawn communities who share information and strategies about how to overcome hurdles, suggesting that peer to peer education is also possible (this has been seen in microfinance). Bank marketing materials focus on the dreams, anxieties and goals of consumers. Risk management processes don't — but they should. Most audits and regulations of banks are focused on certifying the integrity of data and controls.
The Downside of Focusing on Women and Girls
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 9, 2011
David McKenzie's research in Sri Lanka, Mexico, Brazil and Ghana has shown that urban male entrepreneurs typically earn far higher returns from microfinance than women do (in Sri Lanka average returns on capital for women were 0%, for men 10%). Yesterday was International Women's Day and there were many articles and blog posts championing the idea that anti-poverty philanthropy should focus on women and girls (see, for instance, Mary Ellen Iskendarian's post for The Conversation ).
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