Op-Ed: Microfinance revisited and its role in reaching the missing middle

Two weeks ago I wrote about James Surowiecki’s article in the New Yorker that brought forward the inherent limitations of microfinance to actually generate a substantial number of jobs in a developing country. Since then it seems as if I was not the only one (surprise surprise) to take notice of Surowieki’s conclusions and it […]

Intellecap’s Indian Development Gateway partners with Srijan

In what appears to be a natural marriage, Intellecap (featured on TC-I numerous times here) has created a partnership between two of its programs. Intellecap, whose goal is to leverage innovative business solutions for low-income markets, held last week the third annual Srijan (Sanskrit for creativity) Business Plan Competition. Recognizing that many of these ventures […]

TC-I Week in Review

Top posts from the past week: Prerna talked about the flourishing gay-lesbian scene in Bangalore She also touched on a new venture using rice husks for renewable energy Shital highlighted a few activities in India around World Environment Day Reaching into the archives: Vinay’s op-ed on microfinance and the “missing middle” provides a critical look […]

Back to the drawing board? — A harsh look at microfinance

To start, I want to say that my mind has been racing despite sleep deprivation and jet lag since I touched down in Mumbai at 0135 IST this morning. This is the first I have set foot in India since 2005 and thus my first visit since the inception of TC-I, which makes the experience […]

Partnership to nurture SME entrepreneurs

In what could be a significant boost to the Rural BPO industry in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Cisco Systems is partnering with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Tiruchirappalli Regional Engineering College – Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park (TREC-STEP) to nurture and support ICT entrepreneurs in the country [via Economic […]

[TC-I Changemaker]: CGAP’s Gautam Ivatury on the linkage between technology and financial empowerment of the poor

The ThinkChange India staff is committed to providing our readers with interviews with people we believe are at the brink of something special but have for the most part been overlooked by the mainstream media. Readers will be able to see other conversations under our TC-I Changemakers tab. This week, Vinay sat down (over the […]

Obsessive Compulsive Metric Disorder

While my writings in the past have strongly pushed for the establishment of better metrics in quantifying social impact, the reliance on such metrics is not immune to negative outcomes. One such negative outcome is when social investors become so concerned with their own metrics that they lose sight of the larger picture — the […]