Topic: Microcredit

Kiva and Visa Partner Up, Extend Into Gulf Coast Region

Kiva, fresh off its expansion into higher education loans and one year after its entrance into the U.S. market, is moving full speed ahead to help Gulf Coast entrepreneurs recover from devastating setbacks.READ»

Women in Corporate Leadership Today - More About Necessity Than Equality

Over the past few years, I have been watching the role of women increase at the global level. Corporate initiatives such as that of Cisco, Nike, and The Cola Cola Company have embraced the position of women not only within the ...READ»

Abusive Microfinanciers Have Prompted Lawmakers in India to Regulate the Industry

A new law is being introduced in response to frequent suicides at the hands of bullying lenders.READ»

For-Profit Microfinance Matures, India and Africa Lead the Way

Microfinance is maturing, with record numbers of borrowers, loan amounts, new international partnerships, and a focus on transparent reporting.READ»

As Microfinance Explodes in India, Regulators Step Up Oversight

The Indian Microfinance Platform is launching this month, increasing transparency and standardizing reporting for the public domain.READ»

India's Clean Energy Investment Potential: Report

The World Resources Institute says there's a $2.11 billion market for clean energy among India's rural poor.READ»

ACCION, the World's Most Effective Non-Profit Microfinance, Thrives on Constant Innovation

"The more successful a breakthrough is, the sooner it becomes obsolete and therefore one must move to the next stage," says the former CEO.READ»

Business School Ethics, The Clinton Global Initiative Way

"Everything has changed in society, except the classroom," says Vicky Colbert, founder of Escuela Nueva, at the Clinton Global Initiative earlier this week. While the rest of the world has begun to close the antiquated gap between ...READ»

Habitat for Humanity Announces New MicroBuild Microfinance Fund

Microfinance just got sexier.READ»

ShoreBank's Demise: Death of a Brand and Shot in the Arm of Social Capitalism

ShoreBank failed last week. It represents the demise of an important brand, but also the success of a powerful idea. ShoreBank has been a household name for those of us into social capitalism, community development, micro-lending, double- and triple-bottom line business.READ»

Bhagwan Chowdhry's FAB Campaign Aims to Put $100 in Bank Account for Every Baby

Bhagwan Chowdhry, a Professor of Finance at UCLA's Anderson School, outlines his organization's mission to give every newborn in the world access to financial legitimacy.READ»

Interview with Social Entrepreneur, Ben Lyon

We spoke with Ben Lyon, the founder of FrontlineSMS:Credit*, a non-profit focused on micro-financing. After his experience in the East Timor hotel, his passion, drive...READ»

Groupon & Kiva: Building on the Crowd

The phrase “following the crowd” has always had a negative connotation. Nobody wants to think of themselves as a lemming or, that their efforts are an inconsequential “drop in the bucket.” With the advent of the internet, though, crowdsourcing has changed the way we look at the “crowd.” Though still in its infancy, crowdsourcing...READ»

Status of SBA Stimulus Programs

There have been a lot of media reports lately about the SBA and its lending programs.  Two stimulus packages and a new plan by President Obama’s Administration to increase lending to small business have all happened in the last ...READ»

J-Pal’s Most Provocative Inquiries

J-PAL members hope their findings will inspire smarter anti-poverty policy. Here, a look at some of their most provocative inquiries.READ»

• Which Poverty-Fighting Policies Work? J-PAL Has the Answer

Conscious Capitalists Focus on the Ideals of Businesses

Mackey says a Conscious Capitalist focuses on one or more of four ideals -- the good, the true, the beautiful, and the heroic -- and on aligning the interests of all "stakeholders." But just what business should emulate is unclear.READ»

• John Mackey's Vision to Reshape Capitalism

How Charity Newcomers are Revolutionizing the Non-Profit Sector

Social cause is not just about writing a check and mailing it to your favorite charity every year. No, not for the newest wave of non-profits. This up-and-coming generation of charities is developing innovative financial structures, embracing the power new social technologies to engage audiences, taking big risks and changing the face of...READ»

Laptops for Kids and Shared Village-wide Cell Phones can Fight Systemic Deep Poverty

Negroponte and Quadir: How Laptops and Cell Phones Attack Systemic Poverty in Developing CountriesREAD»

Moody's and Kiva at CGI: Rating Credit Risks for a Hand in the Future of Micro-lending Banks

While it's a thrill for me to help engage companies in strategic philanthropy, corporate social responsibility (CSR), skilled volunteering, and other forms of giving and service, I've always believed that corporate initiatives are ...READ»

Social Entrepreneurship

 There is a movement across the globe today that says solutions to society's most pressing social issues cannot be left up to the government to determine. Social entrepreneurs are business owners that decide to take on ...READ»

A Spoon Full Of Sugar Helps Investors Take Their Medicine

Every time my 3-year-old son sees a bottle of children’s Tylenol he asks for “petesina.” That’s his word for medicine or “medecina” in Spanish. Does he have a headache? No. Is he addicted to pain killers? I hope not. But ...READ»

Create A New Category – Build A Profitable Niche

On Wednesday I started an examination of an investment strategy firm that specializes in microfinance, Minlam Asset Management. As I interviewed one of Minlam’s founders, Mike Hokenson, I noticed a reoccurring theme that I see ...READ»

Ethonomics And Microfinance Go Hand In Hand

There has been a lot of positive feedback on my string of blogs themed “financial firms doing good.” It’s easy to get caught up in the negativity that pours out of our televisions and newspapers, but as I travel across the ...READ»

Jack Welch, A Proponent of Conscious Capitalism?

Right now, denizens of young corporate leaders and entrepreneurs who are fighting the good fight –getting investors and their corporate leaders on board with new and more sustainable ways to view business – are perking up at the recent words from former GE Chairman and CEO, Jack Welch. If you have been reading my blog, you have followed my discussions of sustainability as a part of corporate consciousness for the past months. Today, I was pointed towards the latest word from Mr. Welch, publically stating that it was “a dumb idea” for executives to focus so heavily on quarterly profits and share price gains. Wait, wasn’t it Welch who originally created the “shareholder value movement” in the early 80s? READ»

Carbon Micro Credits for the Developing World

Families in Kenya now have a convincing reason to lower their carbon footprints: cash. Yes, two of the trendiest ethonomic concepts of the last 10 years--carbon credits and microfinance--have finally merged. Carbon Manna ...READ»