Expanding Dr. Yunus' Sphere of Influence » Africa

Third world debt is rich pickings for vultures

Sabine Kurjo McNeill — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:28:09 +0000

This blog post demonstrates what Dr. Yunus keeps saying: governments and institutions are notoriously slow and keep letting us down.

The problems are deep and they are institutional above all else. One just has to ‘follow the money’:

– who pays government officials?
– who pays civil servants?
– who pays politicians?
– who pays bankers?
– who pays central bankers?

What is the difference between what we believe happens and what is really happening with money: who prints it and for what purpose? More on Money as Debt also known as Credit.

48 hours of micro giving promoted on social media networks

Lilly — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:12:22 +0000

Raising Money out of Thin Air: Charities and Not-for-Profits should take note of Tweetsgiving

A Project like Tweetsgiving is an example of how a charity can use social media platforms, in this case, twitter, for fund raising. Imagine being able to raise US$ 10,000 in a 48 hour period from hundreds of people who contributed $5 and $10 dollars whose only connection with a charity was when they discovered the fund raising efforts because of one of their friends on twitter?

Imagine what can be done with more established charities. I believe micro giving promoted on social media networks can have a positive impact on fund raising in the weeks, months and years ahead. Not-for-Profits should take note of this and the work of : Beth Kanter, Rebecca Bollwitt, Stacey Monk and others who are pioneering this field as they can benefit directly as they discover and learn how to properly leverage social media and the passion people have for their respective charities.

Natalie Portman awarded for Social Commitment

Lilly — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:34:14 +0000

While there is lots written about celebrities for celebrity sake, some are doing wonderful humanitarian work. One of them is actress Natalie Portman who has recently been awarded first-ever “Movie for Humanity Award” at Venice Festival. The prize is for her work with a Girl’s Scholarship Program in Tanzania who will fully benefit from this award.

Congratulation to Natalie. Perhaps her good fortune will rub off on Stacey Monk and Mama Lucy as well (see the post below). Their jury are YOU, so please VOTE at YouTube

Reducing Poverty On Credit

Sabine Kurjo McNeill — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:21:09 +0000

This book review confirms Dr. Yunus’ claim to ‘credit must be a human right’. Put in another way: since Governments don’t provide us with enough cash any more, we have to learn how to provide credit to each other…

From Poverty News Blog: Reducing Poverty On Credit

from All Africa

New Vision (Kampala)

By Gawaya Tegulle
Kampala

Title: Credit and Reduction of Poverty in Uganda: Structural Adjustment Reforms in Context

Author: William Muhumuza

Publishers: Fountain Publishers

WHILE the reduction of poverty has become a major development policy objective worldwide, the debate continues as to the most effective way to actually reduce poverty.

The belief is that credit programmes are important in speeding up wealth creation among the poor and improving their welfare, and to this end, billions of dollars have flowed from the west into Sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of the world’s poor live.

Credit and Reduction of Poverty in Uganda focuses on Uganda, where the NRM Government fully embraced credit as one of the policy strategies to reduce poverty – under the auspices of the IMF and World Bank.

This book explains how this has been done and raises questions on its effectiveness, before offering alternatives.

It is an insight into the interplay between political decisions and economic policies and processes in difficult contexts.

Though the book is about Uganda, it is also a microcosm of the broader Sub-Saharan Africa and its relation to the IMF and World Bank.

NYT, 08/04/13: Can the Cellphone Help End the Global Poverty?

Lilly — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:27:23 +0000

The word is spreading. Here is an extract from a long piece in today’s New York Times about the use of cellphones in various parts of the world, especially in Africa.

After Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel-winning founder of Grameen Bank, began making microloans to women in poor countries so that they could buy revenue-producing assets like cows and goats, he was approached by a Bangladeshi expat living in the U.S. named Iqbal Quadir. Quadir posed a simple question to Yunus — If a woman can invest in a cow, why can’t she invest in a phone? — that led to the 1996 creation of Grameen Phone Ltd. and has since started the careers of more than 250,000 “phone ladies” in Bangladesh, which is considered one of the world’s poorest countries. Women use microcredit to buy specially designed cellphone kits costing about $150, each equipped with a long-lasting battery. They then set up shop as their village phone operator, charging a small commission for people to make and receive calls.

The endeavor has not only revolutionized communications in Bangladesh but also has proved to be wildly profitable: Grameen Phone is now Bangladesh’s largest telecom provider, with annual revenues of about $1 billion. Similar village-phone programs have sprung up in Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon and Indonesia, among other places. “Poor countries are poor because they are wasting their resources,” says Quadir, who is now the director of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at M.I.T. “One resource is time, another is opportunity. Let’s say you can walk over to five people who live in your immediate vicinity, that’s one thing. But if you’re connected to one million people, your possibilities are endless.”

It is definitely worth a read. Simple technology used by people for the applications that make sense to them – and everyone gains.