Category: Microenterprise
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How Christianity and capitalism can ‘heal’ the world
USA Today: How Christianity and capitalism can 'heal' the world … This is why it's fascinating to see a rising current of people of faith and spirituality not taking poverty vows, not separating finance and faith, but embracing capital as a potent vehicle for the expression of their belief. You've heard of values voters; these…
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Can microinsurance protect the poor?
Guardian: Can microinsurance protect the poor? Low-cost insurance that covers the lives, health and property of the poor could provide protection against natural disasters. … Microinsurance, low-cost insurance policies that cover the lives, health, crops and property of the most vulnerable, are being seen as a central way of providing social protection to the increasing…
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Donuts, genocide, and the American dream
BoingBoing: Donuts, genocide, and the American dream (HT: Cameron Horsburgh) Most visitors to Los Angeles and the west coast are struck by the number of donut shops, but few know that the vast majority of local donut shops are owned by Cambodian refugees who fled the killing fields of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. This is…
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Micro-loan portal Kiva celebrates 5 years
SFGate.com: Micro-loan portal Kiva celebrates 5 years … Micro-asset financing is a relatively recent innovation in micro-finance – which is best known for small loans issued to people trying to escape poverty by starting a business – and is an example of how the field has explored different loan models. Kiva, celebrating its fifth anniversary…
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What’s Better For Helping The Poor — Greed Or Charity?
NPR: What's Better For Helping The Poor — Greed Or Charity? Listen to the podcast here. Say you want to make loans to millions of poor women in the developing world, to help them climb out of poverty. Is it OK to raise money from rich investors, who expect to make a profit? Muhammad Yunus,…
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Can microfinance be both moral and profitable?
Fortune: Can microfinance be both moral and profitable? FORTUNE — There's a debate brewing in the world of do-gooder banking, pitting the father of microfinance Muhammad Yunus against a few entrepreneurs who have put an unlikely spin on Yunus' model of lending to the poor. Earlier this week, India's biggest microlender, SKS Microfinance Ltd., made…
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Africa’s banking laws shut out the poor: Yunus
Reuters: Africa's banking laws shut out the poor: Yunus NAIROBI (Reuters) – Lack of microcredit laws in many African countries is denying millions of the continent's poor access to loans, a Nobel Prize winner Mohammad Yunus, said on Tuesday. Yunus, who won a Nobel Prize in 2006 for championing Microcredit, tiny loans to the poor…
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A better mattress
Economist: A better mattress Microfinance focuses on lending. Now the industry is turning to deposits. IT IS hard for people in the rich world to imagine what it is like to live on $2 a day. But for those who do, the problem is often not just a low income, but an unpredictable one. Living…
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Mobile phones become pocket banks in poor countries
Breitbart: Mobile phones become pocket banks in poor countries An Afghan police officer gets his salary in a text message on his mobile phone. A Kenyan worker dials a few numbers to send money to his family. The rise of banking transactions through mobile phones is giving a whole new meaning to pocket money in…
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Reaping what they sew
Presbyterian News Service: Reaping what they sew Nicaraguan tee-shirt co-op gives women employment, empowerment. MANAGUA, Nicaragua — The Nueva Vida sewing co-op here is bustling with activity. Sewing machines are whirring, scissors are clipping and a light breeze moves through the building’s open windows and doors. It’s a Friday morning, the last day of the…