Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Impact
investors
take
for
inspiration
the
success
of
venture
capital
and
entrepreneurs
in
technology,
biotech,
and
energy,
hoping
to
harness
this
economic
engine
for
social
change.
While
growing,
the
total
capital
deployed
by
impact
investors
remains
modest.
Social
Finance
aims
to
supply
funding
to
support
small-medium
size
local
businesses
and
to
otherwise
keep
communities
strong.
A
number
of
tactics,
including
social
impact
bonds
and
various
new
kinds
of
markets
and
exchanges,
facilitate
these
ends.
With
the
turmoil
of
late
in
our
major
financial
systems,
some
people
believe
that
social
finance
will
play
an
ever-increasing
role
in
society,
as
money
moves
from
being
a
tool
for
speculation
to
one
that
supports
truer
value
creation.
This
course
will
look
at
the
structure,
growth,
and
evidence
of
impact
in
these
areas
of
finance.
The
course
aims
to
provide
advice
and
best
practices
from
successful
practitioners
and
institutions
around
the
world
as
well
as
related
activities
targeting
poverty
alleviation.
The
course
is
designed
for
students
seeking
to
learn
more
about
microfinance
and
related
forms
of
finance
and
to
inspire
additional,
deeper
exploration.
While
this
is
a
course
for
students
who
are
not
intending
to
be
practitioners
in
microfinance,
impact
investing,
or
social
finance,
previous
students
with
prior
experience
in
these
fields
have
found
this
overview
useful.
CLASS
TIME,
DATES
AND
LOCATION:
Monday
6:30
to
10:00ish.
(Note:
course
officially
runs
to
10:30)
R
1230
REQUIRED
READINGS:
A
selection
of
(mostly)
brief
articles
focused
on
areas
relevant
to
the
weeks
topic
and
guest
speakers
is
assigned
for
each
class.
These
readings
are
all
be
available
online.
We
will
not
explore
many
of
these
articles
as
stand-alone
documents.
They
are
for
you
to
deepen
your
understanding.
I
suggest
that
each
week
that
you
read
a
selection
of
the
readings
(ideally
all).
Depending
on
your
level
of
interest,
read
more,
even
if
at
another
date.
Take
advantage
of
these
readings;
I
reiterate:
they
will
add
to
your
understanding
even
though
we
will
not
be
typically
use
them
as
a
basis
for
discussion
in
class.
ASSIGNMENTS
and
GRADING
BREAKDOWN:
Weekly
assignments:
There
are
six
weekly
assignments
for
the
course.
I
want
you
to
do
three
of
them.
To
be
counted,
an
assignment
must
be
completed
and
submitted,
on
time,
using
CTools
|
Assignments.
5
points
each
(15
Total).
In-class
presentation:
You
will
do
one
in-class
presentation,
in
a
team.
Sign
up
at:
http://goo.gl/XJQ0TT
(15
points)
Participation:
In-class
(and
other
ways):
15
Points
Final
Paper
due
12/13,
5
pm
(60
Points)
With
one
other
person,
you
are
to
write
a
7-10
page
double
spaced
paper
on
a
topic
of
your
choosing
related
to
the
course.
You
may
focus
on
an
existing
product
or
service
or
a
product
or
service
that
is
not
yet
(generally)
available.
You
may
focus
on
the
underlying
aims
of
microfinance
(impact
investing
or
social
finance)
or
on
execution.
You
may
focus
on
investment
opportunities,
impact
analysis,
or
likely
future
developments
Your
focus
can
be
local,
regional,
national,
or
generic
(independent
of
geography).
Again:
a
topic
of
your
choosing
related
to
the
course.
Make
it
something
that
interest
you.
What
is
non-negotiable
is
this:
Your
paper
is
to
demonstrate
your
understanding
and
insight
by
requiring
you
to
blend
your
personal
observations
and
perspective4with
a
well-grounded
point
of
view.
By
the
latter,
I
mean
that
you
are
to
write
a
paper
that
makes
liberal
reference
to
what
others
have
thought
and
written
about
already.
Please
reference
the
articles
and
websites
used
in
the
class
as
well
as
additional
articles
/
websites
that
help
you
ground
your
article.
However,
I
do
not
want
you
simply
to
summarize
others
opinions
and
findings.
I
want
you
to
complement
such
a
synthesis
with
something
original
something
that
is
you;
something
that
reflects
the
way
that
you
grew
by
taking
this
course
and
that,
potentially,
describes
a
novel
way
that
you
might
apply
what
youve
learned.
Please
submit
electronically
via
CTools
|
Assignments.
If
you
want
to
also
give
me
a
hard
copy,
Id
appreciate
it.
Alternative:
Opt
out
of
the
in-class
presentation.
Then,
instead
of
writing
a
7-10
page
paper,
write
one
that
is
14-17
pages.
You
still
will
write
it
with
one
other
person.
This
will
re-weight
your
points
as
follows:
assignments
(15);
presentation
(0);
participation
(15);
final
paper
(75).
CLASS
SCHEDULE:
(Guest
speakers
will
be
announced
when
they
confirmed).
Week
1:
INTRODUCTION
These
articles
give
various
perspectives
on
microfinance.
The
issues
raised
are
ones
we
will
be
re-visiting
throughout
the
course.
In
general,
try
to
read
all
Readings
(and
watch
listed
videos).
Websites
included
in
readings
are
for
you
to
examine
to
a
depth
youd
like.
Additional
resources
are
just
that
a
means
for
you
to
explore
further.
Please
note:
Assignments
for
the
week
are
always
at
the
bottom
of
each
weeks
listing.
Readings:
1) Article:
Millions
for
Millions,
Connie
Bruck,
The
New
Yorker,
October
30,
2006.
(14
pages)
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/30/061030fa_fact1
2) Website:
CGAP
FAQ,
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/section/faq
3) http://www.microcreditsummit.org/what-is-microfinance.html
(watch
videos)
4) http://www.scribd.com/doc/123858637/Vulnerability-The-State-of-the-
Microcredit-Summit-Campaign-Report-2013
5) Article:
The
Good,
the
Bad,
the
Ugly:
The
Deceleration
of
Microfinance.
2011.
(1
page)
http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-the-
deceleration-of-microfinance
6) Article:
India
Microcredit
Faces
Collapse
from
Defaults,
The
New
York
Times,
2010.
(2
pages)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/world/asia/18micro.html
Additional
resources:
1) Website:
Microcredit
Summit
Campaign,
http://www.microcreditsummit.org,
2) Dollar
a
day
documentary
trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze72rpWp_Dg&feature=youtu.be
Assignment:
Complete
Assignment
#1
on
CTools
|
Assignments.
Please
note
due
date
on
CTools,
and
use
CTools
|
Assignments
to
submit
it.
Week
2:
STRUCTURE
and
CHALLENGES
This
week
the
focus
is
on
some
of
the
factors
that
influence
microfinance
operations.
We
will
explore
how
this
can
create
possible
tensions
that
can
be
perceived
to
be
counter-productive
to
the
goals
of
microfinance.
Again
(and
the
last
time
Ill
mention
it):
The
weekly
Assignment
is
listed
at
the
bottom
of
this
weeks
entry.
Readings:
1) Sam
Daley-Harriss
Tedx
talk,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_LLCUQlB5E
(in
case
you
have
not
watched
it
or
were
unable
to
attend
the
public
lecture).
He
will
meet
with
our
class.
2) Case
Study:
Controlling
Growth
at
a
Mexican
Microfinance
Start-Up,
Cases
for
Management
Education.
(4
pages)
http://goo.gl/BTFvgN
3) Article:
Designing
Staff
Incentive
Schemes,
Martin
Holtmann,
MicroSave
Briefing
Note
#15.
(2
pages)
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m//template.rc/1.9.26843
(Download
from
this
URL)
4) Article:
A
Failure
to
Communicate:
Microcredit
Confused.
Chris
Dunford.
2011.
(3
pages)
https://www.freedomfromhunger.org/sites/default/files/MicrofinanceConf
usedMondayDevelopmentsMay2011.pdf
5) Article:
Variations
in
Micro-finance
Design
Jens
REINKE.
http://www.gdrc.org/icm/govern/mfi-design.htmlWebsite:
ACCION,
http://www.accion.org
6) Article:
A
Fresh
Look
at
Fighting
Poverty.
The
New
York
Times.
2011.
(1
page)
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/a-fresh-look-at-
fighting-global-poverty/?ref=microfinance
Additional
Resouces:
1) Website:
Microvest
www.microvest.com
2) http://www.microrate.com/media/downloads/2012/10/Luminis-White-
Paper-Microfinance-Investment-A-Primer.pdf
Assignment:
Complete
Assignment
#2
on
CTools
|
Assignments.
Please
note
due
date
on
CTools,
and
use
CTools
|
Assignments
to
submit
it.
Week
4:
Impact
This
week
there
are
several
overlapping
focuses.
The
first
is:
to
what
degree
does
microfinance
serve
the
poors
needs?
The
second
involves
the
use
of
capital
markets
to
raise
money
to
help
the
poor,
exemplified
by
Compartamos
becoming
a
publicly
traded
company
after
once
being
a
nonprofit
financial
institution.
Third:
How
does
impact
investing
(investing
for
good
and
profit,
to
different
degrees)
work,
and
to
what
ends?
The
Additional
Resources
provide
a
wealth
of
material
for
you
to
examine
as
you
like:
various
ways
to
measure
social
performance
(items
1-5);
social
investment
firms
and
terms
(7-9);
a
comparison
of
different
microfinance
institutions
(mixmarket);
and
more.
Readings:
Effects
of
Microfinance
1) Article:
Does
Microfinance
Really
Help
the
Poor?
R.
Rosenberg,
CGAP
Focus
Note,
Jan,
2010
(8
pages)
http://microfinance.cgap.org/2009/10/05/does-microcredit-really-help-
poor-people-how-and-how-do-we-know/
2) Article:
Microloan
Sharks,
Jonathan
Lewis,
Stanford
Social
Innovation
Review,
Summer
2008.
(4
pages)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3es2fitd79rz0nl/Microloan%20Sharks%20%
28Lewis%20Stanford%20Social%20Innovation%20Review%202008%29.p
df
3) Article:
Beyond
Good
Intentions:
Measuring
the
Social
Performance
of
Microfinance
Institutions,
Hashemi,
S.,
Foose,
L.
&
Badawi,
S.,
CGAP,
May
2007.
(12
pages)
http://www.cgap.org/publications/beyond-good-intentions
(Download
from
this
URL)
4) Measuring
the
Impact
of
Microfinance:
Taking
Another
Look,
Kathleen
Odell,
2010.
http://business.dom.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Measuring-the-
Impact.pdf
Microfinance
goes
Public
--
Compartamos
5) Article:
A
Letter
to
Our
Peers,
Carlos
Danel
&
Carlos
Labarthe,
June
2008.
(11
pages)
http://goo.gl/qj6kHn
6) Article:
CGAP
Reflections
on
the
Compartamos
Initial
Public
Offering,
CGAP,
June
2007.
(15
pages).
Download
from:
http://www.cgap.org/publications/cgap-reflections-
compartamos-initial-public-offering
Asset-based
Finance:
6) http://www.juhudikilimo.com/
Alternative
Currencies:
7) http://www.berkshares.org/
Kiva
Zip:
8) https://zip.kiva.org/
Pre-Payment
Finance
and
Guarantors
9) Root
Capital:
Overview:
Short-term
trade
credit
and
Pre-Harvest
loans
10)MicroCredit
Enterprises:
http://www.mcenterprises.org/
Review:
The
Model
Assignment:
Complete
Assignment
#5
on
CTools
|
Assignments.
Please
note
due
date
on
CTools,
and
use
CTools
|
Assignments
to
submit
it.