A Fistful of Rice

In this summary, you will learn

• How Vikram Akula transformed microfinance
• How his company, SKS Microfinance, has made money for investors while treating poor people ethically
• What the future holds for the new microfinance model

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Why you should read A Fistful of Rice

Entrepreneur Vikram Akula inspires and tells a compelling story. He shares his personal history and his passion for eradicating poverty in India, while educating readers about the origins of microfinance and his search for a better way to help the poor. His firm, SKS Microfinance, has become a profitable business that makes money for investors while helping millions of impoverished people in India. Akula doesn’t flinch from explaining the controversy involved in making microfinance a for-profit enterprise where better-known programs are nonprofits, believing that his model keeps investors engaged. Akula’s writing is persuasive, his story is fascinating and his ideas are influential, as billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett can attest. While Akula could have added even more heartfelt inspiration by including less history of microfinance and more stories of real people and what they did with their loans, this is an important story. getAbstract believes that this book will resonate deeply with any entrepreneurs, dreamers or desk jockeys who have a belief that it’s possible to change the world, as well as with bankers, executives and those already fighting the good fight in the field of nonprofits.

About the Author

Vikram Akula is the founder and chairperson of SKS Microfinance.