Panelists:
Caroline Allen (Vice President, Creation Investments)
Dana Dakin (Founder/President, WomensTrust)
Shedd Glassmeyer (Assistant Fund Manager, Developing World Markets)
John Wilson (Analyst Frontier Investment Group: ACCION International)
Moderator:
Richard McNulty (Adjunct Associate Professor of Business Administration, Tuck)
The Microfinance panel provided a lively discussion surrounding the spectrum of approaches to serving the micro-lending need. The panel started with with thoughts about the profit-driven approach to micro-lending employed by Compartamos in Mexico as opposed to a non-profit model. Questions got at the issues of usury rates, transaction costs of a local institution, the education and training involved, and the impact of the financial crisis on microfinance.
The panel represented a diversity of vantage points within the microfinance "value chain" and highlighted the importance of different micro-lending models to meet the array of needs. The issue of "scale" was raised on several occasions during the conversation. While there was agreement that the non-profit model is important to support the on-the-ground education and ultimate success for communities, however, the for-profit institutions facilitate growth and have been vital in helping to provide increased access to funds.
The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth’s Business & Society Conference brings together leaders from a wide range of fields to discuss the important role that business leaders can play in creating a more sustainable world.
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