Climbing out of poverty

If you are a Bombayite or a Mumbaikar ( a resident of Mumbai), you would know that the best place to get bargain leather goods is Dharavi. However, it is also one nauseating shopping experience because Dharavi also happens to be the biggest slum in Asia.
Dharavi has always been a hotbed of micro entrepreneurship, with [...]

What is the business case for a disruptive business model / technology ?

Imagine being commissioned by Chad Hurley to work on a project for “Online video sharing” or by Steve Jobs to work on a project to deliver “Digital Music Player with a cool interface”. What business case or strategy would they have shared ? There was no existing market for their inventions before they introduced it. [...]

Microlending should not just be about philanthropy

Microfinance is clearly in vogue with Prof. Yunus of Grameenphone winning a noble prize this year. Here’s a link to the story
James Webster, a colleague of mine, has recently posted about Kiva, a non-profit organization that allows individuals to contribute towards microfinancing a venture in the developing regions such as Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and [...]