February 2012
Social Enterprise, A Disruptive Innovation
In 2010 SKS Microfinance went public with great excitement from the financial markets and a hail of criticism from some in the industry. The criticism centered around the idea that profit is NOT a proxy for success and an aggressive focus on growth is bad for the poor. SKS disagreed.
When the poor need information, mobile phones can be the right tool for the job
It is important that we take the lessons we have learned from micro-credit and apply them to any new poverty intervention. I got to thinking about this after reading an article titled: "Mobile Phones Will Not Save the Poorest of the Poor." In general, the micro-credit industry focused too much on the existence
Two acronyms every pro-poor business and investor should know
The worlds of social entrepreneurship and impact investing are widening as more people let their heart compete with their wallet in business decision-making. But success in these fields will require more than good intentions – players must stay smart with strong social performance metrics.
