Home | TrendTracker | PowerBlog Reviews | The Experts | Newsletter
ABOUT
SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS brings you daily updates on trends that influence the global small business market.
Anita Campbell, Editor
Past life: CEO, corporate executive, tech entrepreneur, retailer, general counsel, marketer, HR ... (more)
email me
free business magazines
FREE BUSINESS MAGAZINES
Trade publications FREE to qualified professionals. No hidden offers and no purchase necessary.
On Wall Street
The Deal
Computing Canada
CIO
Employee Benefit
Oracle Magazine
100+ additional titles. Click to browse.
ARCHIVES & SEARCH
Previous Small Business Trends articles can be found at the links below:
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
Or, use the search box below to find a
specific post:


NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our FREE Small Business Trends newsletter. (View Current)

We publish regularly and promise we won't share your email address with anyone. (Privacy Policy)
SMALL BIZ INFO & RESOURCES
BLOGS TO READ DAILY*
* Don’t have time to read several dozen blogs a day? Pick two or three. Your brain will thank you for it.
ONLINE COMMUNITIES
BLOG DIRECTORIES
THE BUZZ

SPECIAL RESOURCES
Small Business Trends Radio
Tuesdays, 1:00 PM Eastern U.S. time
on Voice America network
Click to listen

November 1st: Torsten Jacobi, CEO of Creative Weblogging, joins host Anita Campbell. Sponsored by Six Disciplines. Show details.
Friday, April 02, 2004
Third World Version of Venture Capital
Forbes has an uplifting article profiling tiny businesses that have broken the cycle of poverty and desperation. With the help of microloans, entrepreneurs in places like Pakistan, Haiti, Burma, El Salvador, Tanzania and Afghanistan have started businesses, become self-sufficient, and even employed others:

"In 1995 Mkama was barely scratching out a living for herself, her husband and her ten children by raising and selling tomatoes. With a $50 loan from the Foundation for International Community Assistance, she bought spare parts for her bicycle so she could get to the ferry that would take her to the market in nearby Mwanza [Tanzania]. With subsequent loans, she bought better seed and fertilizer. Now, on a good day, she can pull in a profit of $4."
In underdeveloped countries, especially rural areas, venture capital and traditional bank loans are simply not available. Microloan programs (and related microenterprise programs such as grants and pension savings) play crucial roles.

Take, for example, the Grameen Bank. It is the grandaddy of microlending programs. It has over 3 million borrowers, 95% of whom are women. World is Green reports that Grameen even has started a microgrant program for beggars in Bangaladesh.


What's the secret behind microlending? Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto says private ownership rights foster entrepreneurship. I think that's a big part of the success of microlending. Building something you know is -- and will stay -- yours is a powerful motivator.
More news... more trends... more insight...

Home | Privacy | Terms | SmallBizTrends
(c) Copyright 2003 - 2005, Small Business Trends LLC. All rights reserved.