As this Kenyan editorial points out, micro-finance organizations have demonstrated that “lending to the poorest of the poor is not just fashionable, charity, or a moral statement, but also economically viable.”

However, they must stay true to their calling to help the poor like our partner, LOMORO. Having visited Michael Nyangi’s office in Kibera, and visited those who have borrowed capital, I witnessed firsthand the power of business development at work.

From the article:

Kenya, like many other developing countries, is littered with micro-finance institutions that have abandoned their original calling.

Many of them have become part of the formal banking sector, obsessed with the competition for profits and expansion rather than in the provision of affordable credit to the unbanked social classes.

Many of them are micro-credit institutions only in name because they are no different from big banks in the interest rates they charge, the class of customers they seek out and the requirements they impose before considering credit.

via allAfrica.com: Kenya: Micro-Credit Firms Must Help the Poor.

From time to time we like to draw attention to articles that add important perspective to the discussions of justice and poverty alleviation. This is not an endorsement of the viewpoints, but an endorsement of the importance of these discussions

The Wall Street Journal recently asked eight prominent philanthropists and NGO executives how they would spend $10 billion to achieve the biggest and longest-lasting impact on the world’s problems. All eight came up with great ideas, but the clear winner in my opinion came from leading Swedish businessman and philanthropist Percy Barnevik, who said he would use the money to unleash the entrepreneurship of the world’s poorest citizens.

My experience in Africa over the past 27 years has convinced me that this is the only way for people to break out of poverty. People are poor because they have no sustainable income. It’s as simple as that.

via allAfrica.com: Africa: Create Jobs in Continent, and All Else Will Follow.