Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 1, 2011

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.

Microfinance 13

Microfinance IPO Bottom-up Finance 13

Mills Scofield

AUGUST 27, 2012

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.

Incentives 171

Incentives Marketing Microfinance Entrepreneur 171

Modern Servant Leader

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Peer-to-Peer Microfinance: A Sustainable Solution to Poverty. Leadership as a Product Purhcased by Followers. Productivity. To Our Military: Thank You For Your Service. Publishing The New Advanced Degree Model? Servant Leadership Observer – December 2010. Careers for Servant Leaders. The Value of Making Time for Gratitude.

Servant Leader 150

Servant Leader Leadership Microfinance Discount 150

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

MARCH 22, 2013

I agree with Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, who write in Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think that higher productivity associated with the falling cost of technology is leading us to a world of plenty. That's easier said than done in a world where most product innovations are geared toward the rich.

Technology 18

Technology Microfinance Banking Document 18

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 13, 2012

Precious few of the ventures that failed to generate such profit levels have survived, leaving low-income consumers without access to products and services that could have improved their lives and stimulated economic activity in poor areas. The microfinance industry is a rare D and E success story. The result has been explosive growth.

Microfinance 14

Microfinance Prahalad Bottom-up Banking 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 4, 2012

This is particularly true for women entrepreneurs, who rarely hold land in their own names and often have a shorter history in business than men, both of which make them even greater risks in the eyes of most banks, despite the fact that there is no notable gap between men's and women's productivity when all other factors are equal.

Entrepreneur 14

Entrepreneur Globalization Microfinance Finance 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.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Rogers Tourism Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

Our flagship products are wood-burning stoves that generate electricity from fire while reducing toxic smoke emissions by 90%. Customers have myriad channels to discover new products and shop at outdoor gear retailers to explore, evaluate, and choose what they need. Handi shop customers had never seen a product like ours.

Marketing 8

Marketing Microfinance Retail Development 8

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. Undeterred, Shantha persisted until she persuaded the required number of people to sign up for the microfinance project. Shantha expanded the pie.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Innovation Committee Banking 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 22, 2013

I agree with Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, who write in Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think that higher productivity associated with the falling cost of technology is leading us to a world of plenty. That's easier said than done in a world where most product innovations are geared toward the rich.

Technology 8

Technology Microfinance Banking Document 8

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. Today it runs a sprawl of surplus-generating businesses across diverse sectors.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Follow-up Bureaucracy Self-aware 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 22, 2015

” Microfinance and other market-based interventions don’t generally reach them. trillion each year , 5% of the global gross domestic product. At BRAC , where I work, we call this subset the “ultra-poor.” Predominantly women, they face chronic food insecurity, malnutrition, gender discrimination and often abuse.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance BHAG NGO Participative 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

Here are three things that Western investors should want from African entrepreneurs: a focus on the top of the pyramid, control over factors of production, and innovation in distribution rather than in products. Factors of Production. Today his Nice Rice Mill processes 70% of the region’s rice production.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Hotels Entrepreneur Incubator 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Here are some highlights of the outcomes as a result of these NAF interventions: Agriculture productivity improvements through resource conserving “Lean Farming”: Paddy (55%), Groundnut (113%), Vegetables (116%), Sugarcane (40%), and Corn (150%). Over 6,000 people have been made functionally literate through adult literacy program.

Innovation 9

Innovation Microfinance Parcell Technology 9

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.

Entrepreneur 15

Entrepreneur Microfinance Market Segmentation Incubator 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 13, 2011

The pharmaceutical industry also creates products with complex interactions and potentially dangerous side effects. Games can be used to understand consumer tastes and aspirations, as well as to tweak existing products and services. They may also create a comfort level and familiarity and help consumers understand new products.

Banking 11

Banking Pharmaceuticals Microfinance Risk Management 11

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 21, 2013

Sure, size can often be correlated to maturity, but we want to know that the service, curriculum, or product the organization is offering has a significant impact on the problem it aims to solve. Successful examples of this approach are still rare; most people point to microfinance.

Venture Capitalist 9

Venture Capitalist Mentor Microfinance NGO 9

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 17, 2014

Under the broad umbrella of impact investments lie myriad sectors, asset types, and investment products, most of which still need to be developed and understood. We allowed microfinance and the venture capital industry the time and space to develop over a few decades. There is no single right answer to this question.

Development 8

Development Microfinance Biotechnology Exit Strategy 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 20, 2012

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. Localize and bundle base products.

Bottom-up 10

Bottom-up Microfinance Price Banking 10

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. Product : Investments in products or services that have positive social benefits.

Class 8

Class Microfinance Education Supply Chain 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 17, 2016

Marx’s goal was for workers to take ownership of the means of production, by which he meant factories and machinery. But in the post-industrial world, most of us are knowledge workers at least in part — the means of production is our brainpower, which we retain ownership of no matter what our job is.

Drucker 8

Drucker Microfinance Licensing Entrepreneur 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 30, 2018

Shonda Rhimes, with four television shows simultaneously in production, is an entertainment industry titan. For example, one microfinance organization that is dually devoted to advancing a social mission and being commercial viable says employees are both “social workers” and “bankers.” It is running a marathon.

How To 11

How To Learning-by-Doing Examples Participative 11

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

And we are often happy to review these start-up plans — which include the typical elements such as a product description, competitive analysis, estimate of market size, and projected financials. Some member of our staff at Echoing Green, an angel investor and grantmaker in social enterprise, hears this request every week.

Entrepreneur 10

Entrepreneur Planning Taylorism Taylor 10