Entrepreneurship Notes

Your Assignment for the week will be to compare the two microfinance platforms kiva.org and myc4.com. Your assignment is to outline how the two platforms differ and to select one that you prefer. Argue for why you have selected this website. My answer: Kiva and Myc4 both are microfinance platforms that are helping small entrepreneurs who need money on loan. Kiva is non-profit organization, whereas myc4 is a business model where the lender can make some money. Myc4 is working in Africa and Kiva has access to small entrepreneurs in various parts through their field partners. Though, both websites are doing excellent work and provide sufficient details so that you can lend money to entrepreneurs, and it is difficult to choose one over another, I would go with Myc4. I would go with Myc4 for the reason that it allows you to make some money. Now making money is not your primary goal when you're out there to help people, but this is what makes Myc4 little interesting. The extra money that...

Ester Barinaga, Professor, Copenhagen Business School Microfinance is a financial technique initiated in the developing countries as a tool to help people get out of extreme poverty. Professor studied what happens when you translate such a social innovation - microfinance from the developing world to a world, or to such a different context as Sweden. She followed the effort to introduce microfinance to a developed welfare state, such as Sweden, where you don't have a lack of financial infrastructure . We may think of a social problem as identical in different national contexts, and it's not. Poverty in India or Bangladesh is one thing. Exclusion and poverty in a welfare state like Sweden is quite a different thing. And to believe, to have the illusion that we're going to be able to use the same social innovation to address poverty in both places. It might be an illusion. Whereas in India or Bangladesh, it might be a matter of lack of material access to financial networks. I...

Should you start a social business? I don't know. I think it's a fantastic opportunity. I don't actually think the social business is something new. I think social business has existed forever. A social business is something where you want to find a solution to communities, or people, or countries, or areas needs. It's a need which you'd like to cover in a way which has a social aspect. If you want to do that, I think you should team up, find some people who can share your vision about what social challenge you would like to do something with, and you should quickly go into collecting data about it. If somebody already has done it, if you can learn from others and then build a prototype on this. See if it works. Go out and ask those you would like to help with their needs if this really is right. If this really is the best model for covering that. Then refine your model and then see how you can scale it and learn from it. Don't be afraid of sharing it, your mist...

Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems, among other branches. Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually poorer population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient. (Wikipedia) Kiva is a 501 non-profit organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in 77 countries. Kiva's mission is "to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive." (Wikipedia) MYC4 was an internet marketplace where you and investors from around the world can lend money directly to entrepreneurs who are doing business in Africa and create growth together with them. That me...