Advancing Financial Services

I recently watched Muhammad Yunus full of joy, sharing his story and advocating for his ideas during his Nobel Lecture of December 10, 2006, at the Oslo City Hall, Norway. I was deeply inspired and connected to his values and believe. I would like to contribute my 2 cents in promoting his lecture in this post.

From a recent Fortune magazine that I read that most companies in S&P have been rated as risky. This represents a huge challenge for companies as new emerging economies such as India, China or other countries mean new business models which have to be sustainable and scalable and I do not think that there are in most text books or case studies of today.

Interesting discussion taking place at the site WorldChanging.com over the pros and cons of the global distribution of artesan products. Check out http://www.worldchanging.com/ and be sure to read the comments.

I am happy that microfinance is the buzzword in many high places. By many, it is believed to be the magical bullet that will eradicate poverty to extinction. It is aim is to avail capital in the hands of the world's poor in getting out of poverty. Will it work if somebody went around dishing money to whoever was dimmed poor?

As microfinance takes shape, the following are the principles that have been defined by CGAP and endorsed by the G8 according to the new book - Access for All: Building Inclusive Financial Systems (a world bank publication - http://www.gizmag.com/go/5112)

It was interesting to note how the poor can work hard against all odds.

I came across the story about an Afghan woman - Shakila - who through her influence and strong believe in work hard, influenced several others to join hands in changing their lives. This goes along to confirm the fact the poor are poor not by choice but by circumstance and, given a choice, they will do all they can to get out of it.

Indigo Financiera is mentioned in the NextBilion.net blog:

http://www.nextbillion.net/node/1550

Financial services are fundamental to community development as they enable individuals to build assets, manage risks, and increase earnings. The Digital Vision initiatives in this area harness the power of ICTs to improve the reach, scope and effectiveness of these critical services in underserved markets.

RDVP Fellows employ a needs-based approach to conceptualizing innovations in:

• Microfinance,
• Microinsurance,
• Remittances,
• Market information and
• E-commerce.