categories
HOT TOPICS
- The Accelerator Conundrum
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
development
Venture Capital for MicroFinance: Chris Brookfield (Part 7)
Chris earlier brought up Compartamos, an MFI currently operating in Mexico. It seems they have a solid customer base and a very profitable business strategy – further proof of the validity of cash-positive microfinance business models. SM: How many loans does Compartamos have ath the moment? CB: I think they have about 600,000 customers. I
Venture Capital for MicroFinance: Chris Brookfield (Part 6)
Microfinance opportunities are growing throughout the world. The availability of data to support the microfinance trend is available from various sources. Depending on the location of the MFI, the cost of delivering the loan can be very low. SM: Can you cite that type of data? That is exactly the type of data you need,
BOP Markets: Mobile Telephony (Excerpt from the WRI Report)
Perhaps the strongest and most dramatic BOP success story is mobile telephony. Between 2000 and 2005 the number of mobile subscribers in developing countries grew more than fivefold—to nearly 1.4 billion. Growth was rapid in all regions, but fastest in sub-Saharan Africa—Nigeria’s subscriber base grew from 370,000 to 16.8 million in just four years (World
BOP Markets (Excerpt from the WRI Report)
The 4 billion people at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP)—all those with incomes below $3,000 in local purchasing power—live in relative poverty. Their incomes in current U.S. dollars are less than $3.35 a day in Brazil, $2.11 in China, $1.89 in Ghana, and $1.56 in India. Yet together they have substantial purchasing power:
Venture Capital for MicroFinance: Chris Brookfield (Part 2)
Here Chris details Unitus’ switch from being a non-profit firm to a for-profit firm. Much of the current interest in microfinance is generated by the fact that the discipline is now being viewed as a sustainable “business”, not just charity. Thus, large banks, venture firms, and serious entrepreneurs are starting to wake up to its
Venture Capital for MicroFinance: Chris Brookfield (Part 1)
Chris Brookfield is the Investment Director at Unitus Investment Management Company. He has been a venture capital and private equity investor his entire professional career. In 2004 he co-founded Open Water Investors. Chris has also been an Associate at Redleaf Venture Management, a Silicon Valley seed stage venture investor, and is familiar with pure play
Heritage Hotels in India
Besides Real Estate, the Hotel industry is also booming in India. I have always felt, Heritage Hotels are a very good way to preserve and restore old architecture, as well as leverage them. India already has a heritage of doing this in Rajasthan and many other places. I would like to see this tradition continued
My India, After 10 Years (Part 5)
By Jorge Freyer, Guest Author The answer to India’s growth may lie in a much tighter alliance between India and the US. These alliances will need to come from both industry and government and should be at the level of the reconstruction of Europe after the second world war. India has to do a great
