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The Definition of Insanity: Why Repeating the Same Approach to Enterprise Support is Failing Africa’s SMEs
It’s often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So in a region where 84 percent of SMEs struggle to access capital, why do investors keep recycling the same failed approaches when financing African enterprises? Mercy Mangeni and Joshua Murima at Intellecap discuss what investors and entrepreneurs have done wrong – and explore some innovative ways their organization is working to make it right.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing
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Trust, Not Peer Pressure: Adapting the Global Microfinance Model for the U.S.
After years of working with global MFIs at Whole Foods’ Whole Planet Foundation, Steve Wanta saw that the group lending model that helped microentrepreneurs abroad could also work for Hispanic female entrepreneurs in Texas. But he also realized that the traditional microfinance model could function better with a few twists. In this Q&A with NextBillion, Wanta discusses the lessons he's learned leading the nonprofit JUST, which is adapting the microfinance model for the U.S. market.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Beyond Inclusion: How Mission-Based Small Business Lenders are Evolving Their Definition of Impact
While microfinance institutions have grown rapidly around the globe, so too has economic inequality in developed countries. More than two decades ago, Accion in the U.S. and Opportunity Fund responded by adapting their microlending model from low-income markets to the United States. Gina Harman and Luz Urrutia, the respective CEOs of those two organizations, share new research on small loans have impacted revenues and profits for borrowing entrepreneurs, most of whom lacked the financing and resources they needed to start or grow their businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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The ‘Start Small, Stay Small’ Dilemma: How Nonprofit/Private Partnerships Can Boost Women-Owned Businesses
Women-owned businesses tend to start small and stay small, in part due to challenges accessing credit. They're also more likely to be discouraged from applying for financing for fear of being declined. Gina Harman, CEO of Accion's U.S. Network, and Andrea Jung, CEO of Grameen America, explain how their organizations are serving these entrepreneurs – and highlight some important ways this work can be expanded.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Closing the Gap: Identifying Key Challenges for the Missing Middle SMEs in Francophone West Africa
Many small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries fall into the “missing middle”: They're too big for microfinance and too small or risky for traditional finance. To better understand this sector and how to support it, the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) commissioned studies on the entrepreneurial ecosystems of Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Togo. WDI's Ekta Jhaveri discusses the research with Julia Kho, knowledge manager at TripleJump, an investment management and advisory services firm that manages DGGF’s Investment Funds Local SMEs effort.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Getting Real About Innovation: Why Accion’s U.S. Network Made the Leap to Digitize its Lending Operations
Technology can boost small businesses' access to finance, but can also risk trapping them in a cycle of debt. And for lenders serving lower-income entrepreneurs, these risks and rewards are more acute. Gina Harman, CEO of Accion’s U.S. Network, discusses its ambitious efforts to digitize lending operations across its national online platform in this podcast Q&A, exploring how established organizations can adapt to emerging technologies – without compromising their missions.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
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Making Tech Work: How Local Know-How Can Improve Digital Financial Inclusion Solutions in Challenging Markets
Technology can eliminate inefficiencies, collect valuable information and expand access to critical services. But technological solutions often replace indigenous, ad-hoc approaches which – though they may appear incomplete and messy – reflect the knowledge and relationships of the parties involved. Asa Nyaga at BFA explores how Farmerline, a Ghana-based tech company serving smallholders, aligned the product design of a new app with the ideas and understandings of its target users.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Technology
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Why Fintech Startups Are Wooing India’s Small Businesses
Manjunatha BN runs a music store called Sri Sai Musicals in Bangalore. He needed a loan of $7,800 (5 lakh rupees). Unsure of getting one from a bank, he decided to approach Bangalore-based digital lender Capital Float. To his surprise, he received his loan in no time.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech, lending, microlending, MSMEs, SME finance, SMEs
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