NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

While, Vikram Akula, founder and chairman of SKS Microfinance, may be worth millions today, not too long ago he almost declared personal bankruptcy. The man that built India’s largest micro-loan empire was struggling with a $45,000 mountain in credit-card debt in 2004, more than his annual salary at the time.

The unexpected expenses of launching the company as well as the cost of a drawn out divorce in the U.S. had left him with more debt than 100 of his borrowers put together. Instead of declaring bankruptcy though he got a job. He left SKS to his managers in Andhra Pradesh and went to work for a stint at McKinsey in the U.S. to generate some cash.