Category Archives: Loans

Core values: business models meant to serve the BoP

Posted on June 25, 2010 by

(Republished from old Perspective 2.0 blog March 10th 2009) The biggest shock for me in the Phillippines was learning that airtime minutes purchased on a prepaid plan came with an expiry date. The smaller the amount the faster the expiration. … Continue reading →

Posted in Airtime, Alternative currency, ASEAN, Assumption filter, Banking, Bottom of the Pyramid, Business Models, Buyer Behaviour, Cashless transactions, Design, Income, Informal & Flexible, Loans, Mobile platform, Philipines, Rural, Savings, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, User research

Women Together: Incentivising Savings

Posted on February 21, 2010 by

Mahila Milan means “women together” and provides a decentralised vehicle for the empowerment of women via leadership roles and advocacy alongside its pivotal daily savings collection. Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, Collection, India, Informal & Flexible, Loans, Savings, Urban | Tagged , , , , , ,

Traditional moneylending – informal, flexible, trust based and changing fast

Posted on January 3, 2010 by

Sawai Madhopur, December 30th 2008 As Microfinance Grows in India, So Do Its Rivals is the title of a recent WSJ article by Ketaki Gokhale which begins so, The practice of making tiny loans to poor people, or microfinance, was … Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, Bottom of the Pyramid, India, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Loans, Rural | 1 Comment

Banking on Trust

Posted on December 12, 2009 by

Following up on the Reserve Bank of India announcement to allow small shops and phone kiosks, etc to handle basic services on behalf of banks – I directed questions around potential receptivity amongst Dharavi residents. Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, Bottom of the Pyramid, India, Informal & Flexible, Loans, Urban | Tagged , , , ,

Seasonality and its influence on rural BoP household financial management

Posted on July 26, 2009 by

Fallow field, Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan India  January 2009 I first noticed the influence of seasonality on income halfway during the Indian fieldwork. On one hand, its but natural that the seasons are linked to a farmer's cash flow, dependent as … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Alternative currency, Assumption filter, Bottom of the Pyramid, Business Models, Buyer Behaviour, Cashless transactions, Culture, Economy, Expenses, Income, India, Loans, Philipines, Rural, Savings, South Asia, Strategy, User research

Some thoughts on community based models for sharing costs

Posted on April 29, 2009 by

We found that the key factor that makes 'prepaid' payment plans (whether its for electricity, mobile phones, water etc) so attractive to the BoP customer, in the context of their own behaviour patterns regarding the management of their personal finances. … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, ASEAN, Bottom of the Pyramid, Business Models, Buyer Behaviour, Culture, Design, Informal & Flexible, Loans, Rural, Savings, South Africa, South Asia, Sub Saharan Africa, User research, Value

Quick summary of workshop findings

Posted on April 23, 2009 by

Our workshop officially ended today although there's still a lot of 'mopping up' to be done not to mention the final documentation. We had the opportunity to analyze groups of users observed and interviewed by me in rural Rajasthan (India) … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Alternative currency, ASEAN, Assumption filter, Banking, Bottom of the Pyramid, Business Models, Buyer Behaviour, Cashless transactions, Culture, Economy, Expenses, Income, India, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Loans, Philipines, Rural, Savings, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, User research, Value | 4 Comments

Sudhir Venkatesh and the rise of the “other” BoP

Posted on March 29, 2009 by

Photo credit: Jim Wilson/The New York Times Even as we observe and study those who live on irregular and unpredictable incomes in the lower income strata of the developing world, articles in the media this week catch our attention to … Continue reading →

Posted in Assumption filter, Banking, Bottom of the Pyramid, Business Models, Buyer Behaviour, Cashless transactions, Culture, Design, Economy, Income, Literature review, Loans, Mobile platform, Strategy, Urban, User research | 1 Comment

There can be no shortcuts at the BoP

Posted on March 21, 2009 by

This is not meant to be a complaint about any one organization so much as an observation made by happenstance while in the field. As written about earlier, my hostess in provincial Philippines is a micro entreprenuer running a small … Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, Bottom of the Pyramid, Business Models, Buyer Behaviour, Culture, Income, Loans, User research

The ability to choose your tradeoffs is empowering

Posted on January 28, 2009 by

Sari shop, Old Delhi, India, January 9th 2009 Sonia is just 26 years old. She went to work at age 9, when other little girls were going to school. She didn't say if she started working as a gofer in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bottom of the Pyramid, Culture, Expenses, Income, India, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Loans, Mobile platform, Savings, Urban, User research, Value