3 ms·

Ok, I read through sections I and II, and no further. Sticking my neck w-a-a-a-y out there, I would loan the francs on my table to Congolese who could convince

Ok, I read through sections I and II, and no further. Sticking my neck w-a-a-a-y out there, I would loan the francs on my table to Congolese who could convince me they can make a business, provide a product or service, grow the business and employ other Congolese. Essentially, become a bank that makes only business loans. Perhaps charge interest, perhaps not. I'd recycle loan payments to make new loans to new entrepreneurs. I'd meet periodically with the borrowers to learn what is working for them and what is not so that I can select better candidates over time, hopefully before I run out of francs...

iso1337 8y ago
You can try out kiva.org My problem with it was that most of the businesses were of the retail type (selling clothes on the streets). I’m not an economist but that seems to me to not have much potential for lifting many out of poverty.
- hinkley 8y ago
  The context would matter. It’s a very common refrain to describe how many hours are wasted each day acquiring some necessity like food, water or shelter (I roughly include clothes under shelter). Opening a clothing shop in the central market of the largest town wouldn’t move the needle. Opening it in your village or the nearest crossroads could alter many lives.
  - iso1337 8y ago
    That’s a good point. Unfortunately kiva doesn’t give you many tools to make those assessments. You get a picture of the person applying for the loan, and then about a paragraph describing what they will use it for. Very light on numbers and no follow up on how their business is doing post-loan. After a while it felt like the site was selling me the feeling of being a good person, above all else.
bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago
That's the "banking" path proposed and not further explored in section II.

3 ms·

Ok, I read through sections I and II, and no further. Sticking my neck w-a-a-a-y out there, I would loan the francs on my table to Congolese who could convince

by 11thEarlOfMar 8y ago

iso1337 8y ago
You can try out kiva.org My problem with it was that most of the businesses were of the retail type (selling clothes on the streets). I’m not an economist but that seems to me to not have much potential for lifting many out of poverty.
- hinkley 8y ago
  The context would matter. It’s a very common refrain to describe how many hours are wasted each day acquiring some necessity like food, water or shelter (I roughly include clothes under shelter). Opening a clothing shop in the central market of the largest town wouldn’t move the needle. Opening it in your village or the nearest crossroads could alter many lives.
  - iso1337 8y ago
    That’s a good point. Unfortunately kiva doesn’t give you many tools to make those assessments. You get a picture of the person applying for the loan, and then about a paragraph describing what they will use it for. Very light on numbers and no follow up on how their business is doing post-loan. After a while it felt like the site was selling me the feeling of being a good person, above all else.
bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago
That's the "banking" path proposed and not further explored in section II.