article thumbnail

The Microfinance Contagion Scenario

Harvard Business Review

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. That could likely have consequences.

article thumbnail

Lessons for Social Entrepreneurs from the Microfinance Crisis

Harvard Business Review

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.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Microfinance Is Good for Women, but It's Only Part of the Solution

Harvard Business Review

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 was one issue that we considered.

article thumbnail

An Approach to Ending Poverty That Works

Harvard Business Review

Microfinance and other market-based interventions don’t generally reach them. BRAC’s short answer to these questions is yes, all of the above. At BRAC , where I work, we call this subset the “ultra-poor.” If we’re to end poverty, we can’t ignore them. And we may have found a way to do this.

article thumbnail

It Takes a Village to Raise an Entrepreneur

Harvard Business Review

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.

article thumbnail

Facebook Presence Is an Important Clue to a Social Venture's Future

Harvard Business Review

In other words, show me a fledgling enterprise with a big Facebook following, and I'll show you a venture that's poised to bring in revenue and capital over the short term. This makes sense to Milaap.org , a social enterprise in Bangalore that crowdsources low-cost capital for microfinance institutions through its online platform.

article thumbnail

The 3 Preconditions for an Entrepreneurial Society

Harvard Business Review

And if you need access to money, crowdfunding platforms and microfinance options make that easier than ever. But today such companies seem to be stifling entrepreneurship; they have become short-term-oriented and unduly conservative. To be a taxi driver, you need a car and a GPS. To be a hotelier, you need a spare room.