Comments on: Is Microfinance Really Effective in Alleviating Poverty? http://www.triplepundit.com/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/ Business, Better. Since 2005 Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:49:35 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jessica Schessler http://www.triplepundit.com/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/comment-page-1/#comment-11739 Jessica Schessler Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:04:21 +0000 http://www.triplepundit.com/wordpress/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/#comment-11739 Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry that posted 3 times. It froze and then I accidentally clicked a link in an excel document, and it started loading a new page in this window. I thought my post hadn't gone through, so I tried again. *my bad* ^^ Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry that posted 3 times. It froze and then I accidentally clicked a link in an excel document, and it started loading a new page in this window. I thought my post hadn’t gone through, so I tried again.
*my bad* ^^

]]> By: Jessica Schessler http://www.triplepundit.com/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/comment-page-1/#comment-11738 Jessica Schessler Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:00:24 +0000 http://www.triplepundit.com/wordpress/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/#comment-11738 Quite the interesting read! Definitely something needs to be done about the poorest of the poor, but what? It's on such a large scale, it's hard to imagine the implications of something without some sort of negative consequence. But, speaking of helping with poverty, I'm working for a non-profit that is working with farmers in Central America to teach them sustainable farming techniques instead of using slash and burn. The outcome is incredible. They end up saving rainforests, plant more trees, and end up having left over crops to sell for income. It just seems to me like a great solution to many different problems, instead of just trying to fix one thing without looking at all of the others that are related. If you want to learn more about them... www.sustainableharvest.org Oh! And we're also being featured on Stonyfield yogurt lids. Stonyfield is donating $40,000 to three non-profits based on voting, so if you want to help some forests out, you can vote here: http://www.stonyfield.com/specialOffers/BidWithYourLid/ Plus, you can get a coupon for a free cup of yogurt online, and then use that to mail in and vote and get free prizes. :) Thanks!! Quite the interesting read! Definitely something needs to be done about the poorest of the poor, but what? It’s on such a large scale, it’s hard to imagine the implications of something without some sort of negative consequence.
But, speaking of helping with poverty, I’m working for a non-profit that is working with farmers in Central America to teach them sustainable farming techniques instead of using slash and burn. The outcome is incredible. They end up saving rainforests, plant more trees, and end up having left over crops to sell for income. It just seems to me like a great solution to many different problems, instead of just trying to fix one thing without looking at all of the others that are related.
If you want to learn more about them…
http://www.sustainableharvest.org
Oh! And we’re also being featured on Stonyfield yogurt lids. Stonyfield is donating $40,000 to three non-profits based on voting, so if you want to help some forests out, you can vote here:
http://www.stonyfield.com/specialOffers/BidWithYourLid/
Plus, you can get a coupon for a free cup of yogurt online, and then use that to mail in and vote and get free prizes. :)
Thanks!!

]]> By: Stacey http://www.triplepundit.com/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/comment-page-1/#comment-11737 Stacey Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:23:46 +0000 http://www.triplepundit.com/wordpress/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/#comment-11737 Karnani actually does contend that microloans <i>can</i> hurt the <b>poorest</b> borrowers. Because of the high interest rates sometimes charged for microloans, there is a chance that the recipient will not be able to earn a great enough return to cover the interest, and thus become poorer. He also observes that, "the vast majority are caught in subsistence activities. They usually have no specialized skills, and so must compete with all the other self-employed poor people in entry-level trades. Most have no paid staff, own few assets, and operate at too small a scale to achieve efficiencies, and so make very meager earnings. In other words, most microenterprises are small and many fail..." He does acknowledge, though, that "Microcredit is certainly a noble idea and a genuine innovation that has provided some positive impact to its clients, particularly to women's noneconomic empowerment." <p> A woman who recently visited microlending clients in Peru posted a comment to the article. She observed that some of the women she met were able to grow thriving businesses and even export their goods. As a result they felt more confident and empowered to lobby for better services from the government that will help to lift up the whole community. It seems that microfinance can be a very useful tool. The author's point, I believe, is that it will likely not the be one "silver bullet" that will eliminate poverty.</p> Karnani actually does contend that microloans can hurt the poorest borrowers. Because of the high interest rates sometimes charged for microloans, there is a chance that the recipient will not be able to earn a great enough return to cover the interest, and thus become poorer. He also observes that, “the vast majority are caught in subsistence activities. They usually have no specialized skills, and so must compete with all the other self-employed poor people in entry-level trades. Most have no paid staff, own few assets, and operate at too small a scale to achieve efficiencies, and so make very meager earnings. In other words, most microenterprises are small and many fail…” He does acknowledge, though, that “Microcredit is certainly a noble idea and a genuine innovation that has provided some positive impact to its clients, particularly to women’s noneconomic empowerment.”

A woman who recently visited microlending clients in Peru posted a comment to the article. She observed that some of the women she met were able to grow thriving businesses and even export their goods. As a result they felt more confident and empowered to lobby for better services from the government that will help to lift up the whole community. It seems that microfinance can be a very useful tool. The author’s point, I believe, is that it will likely not the be one “silver bullet” that will eliminate poverty.

]]> By: Naul http://www.triplepundit.com/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/comment-page-1/#comment-11736 Naul Sat, 23 Jun 2007 03:38:17 +0000 http://www.triplepundit.com/wordpress/2007/06/is-microfinance-really-effective-in-alleviating-poverty/#comment-11736 Very interesting... but microfinance projects certainly dont *hurt* right? It seems silly to radically dismiss them. Perhaps large labor projects help more people more quickly, but surely encouraging leadership and entrepreneurship in a community is never a bad thing! Very interesting… but microfinance projects certainly dont *hurt* right? It seems silly to radically dismiss them. Perhaps large labor projects help more people more quickly, but surely encouraging leadership and entrepreneurship in a community is never a bad thing!

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