microfinance - Publications - Faculty & Research

30 Oct 2007
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First Look: October 30, 2007

Course MaterialsBASIX Harvard Business School Case 207-099 BASIX, an Indian microfinance corporation, must decide whether to continue to sell weather insurance to its clients. A brand-new financial product, weather insurance pays if... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Jun 2009
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First Look: June 23

http://hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=409113 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?—A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh Harvard Business School Case 508-021 Abstract unavailable at this time. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2025
Case

Untapped Global: Financing Africa's Missing Middle

By: Raymond Kluender and Emanuele Colonnelli

In November 2024, Jim Chu, founder and CEO of Untapped Global, faced mounting internal tensions over the company’s strategic direction. Untapped had developed a data-driven revenue-based financing (RBF) model to address the “missing middle” problem—the $5.2 trillion... View Details

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15 Jan 2013
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First Look: January 15

Much of the success of microfinance has been attributed to attempts to overcome the challenges of information asymmetries in uncollateralized lending. However, very little is known about the optimal contract structure of these loans, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Dec 2017
Research & Ideas

What We've Learned from 101 Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets

understanding the factors that govern business growth in emerging markets. Leaders interviewed in 20 countries include Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chair, of Bangladesh’s BRAC microfinance company; Rosario Bazan, founder and CEO of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

06 Mar 2007
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First Look: March 6, 2007

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=907011 Opportunity International: Measurement and Mission Harvard Business School Case 307-067 After a "first career" in business, HBS graduate Christopher Crane becomes CEO of a worldwide View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Jul 2010
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First Look: July 20

right solution for Bangladesh. He assembled a critical group of partners in a venture, GrameenPhone, which included Scandinavian telecom operators; Grameen Bank, the microfinance pioneer; Bangladesh Railways; as well as a Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Feb 2015
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First Look: February 18

subsidiary is Compartamos Banco, has been a fantastically successful endeavor since it started in the 1990s. But in 2014, Gentera faces challenges in expanding beyond group-lending and micro-credit into microfinance and beyond in order to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2018
Supplement

Chaudhary Group: Rebuilding Nepal (B)

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Inakshi Sobti

Supplements the (A) case. Having successfully spearheaded relief work in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake, the Chaudhary Foundation envisions creating a more comprehensive and sustainable development model. They are keen to build a model village that integrates... View Details

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02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

remaining four years at the IITA’s helm. Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/518034-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 213-035 "BASIX (Abridged) BASIX, an Indian microfinance corporation, must decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

March 2018
Case

Chaudhary Group: Rebuilding Nepal

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Inakshi Sobti

After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the Chaudhary Group, a billion-dollar conglomerate in Nepal, decides to play a pivotal role in rebuilding the country. The Group's philanthropic arm (Chaudhary Foundation) works with stakeholders and develops a blue print for short- and... View Details

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March 2021 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-086. In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online... View Details

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17 Mar 2009
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First Look: March 17, 2009

Microfinance in particular has often been argued, but not without controversy, to be a tool for empowering women. Here, using a randomized controlled trial, we examine whether access to, and marketing of, an individually held commitment... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Aug 2012
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First Look: August 28

substantial variation across lenders, even within a particular setting. This paper exploits a plausibly exogenous change in the liability structure offered by a microfinance program in India, which shifted from individual to group... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2019
Case

Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma

By: Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and George Gonzalez

In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online purchases through four interest-free... View Details

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February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Amram Migdal

This case examines Blue Haven Initiative (BHI), an impact investing fund and family office, and one of its investments, PEGAfrica (PEG). BHI founder Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ motivations for using her family wealth to start a family office focused on impact investing,... View Details