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Lessons from Microfinance for Venture Capital
Video

Lessons from Microfinance for Venture Capital

INK, 2014

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

When Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their breakthroughs in microfinance, budding venture capitalist (VC) Anjney Midha was eager to explore whether the field of venture capital could emulate the microfinance model. In this presentation, Midha unveils his findings. Though lacking the finer details that interested watchers will crave, his conclusions are remarkable and worthy of further investigation. getAbstract recommends Midha’s oration to VCs, fund managers and neophyte entrepreneurs alike.

Summary

When Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their advancements in microfinance, two unique aspects of their model piqued the interest of entrepreneur Anjney Midha. First, the bank limited the value of its loans to small sums. Second, peers participated in the loan approval process and, due to their previous experience, proved to be more adept than professional financiers at assessing risk: In the recent past, peers were in the same position as the loan applicants and had to make similar decisions. To understand this model, Midha traveled to Bangladesh to work with Dr. Yunus ...

About the Speaker

Stanford graduate Anjney Midha is a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.