The $65 Business
Nicholas Kristof wrote an absolutely fascinating and comprehensive feature in the Times magazine this weekend about the state of women in the world — and how financing them would solve many of the world’s problems. It is intriguiging to me how more than half the population of our world is uneducated, underresourced, underserved, and undercapitalized.
The thing that stood out in sharpest relief for me was the story of Saima who took out a $65 microfinance loan — and changed her circumstance, her social position and employed an entire extended community (30 families in all). Maybe some of the venture funded startups in Silicon Valley might want to look to Saima for a savvy business model of doing a lot with a little — I bet she’d have some good advice.
In the meantime, if you are a woman entrepreneur looking for microfinancing Accion is one of the largest and it is here in the U.S. — they have a range of comprehensive programs for startups and are a great resource.
-Meghan
