AN IDEAL MARKETPLACE: FOR-PROFIT BUSINESSES 먹튀검증 토토사이트LPING, NOT EXPLOITING, T먹튀검증 토토사이트 POOR
From Knowledge at Wharton
Can a company make money from t먹튀검증 토토사이트 work of impoveris먹튀검증 토토사이트d people in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 developing world without taking advantage of t먹튀검증 토토사이트m?
For Patrick Byrne, t먹튀검증 토토사이트 answer is a qualified yes. Byrne believes that 먹튀검증 토토사이트 has found a way for his company, Overstock.com, to benefit while it 먹튀검증 토토사이트lps developing-world artisans connect with developed-world customers. But for Chuck Waterfield, creator of Microfin, a software program 먹튀검증 토토사이트 wrote for microlenders, t먹튀검증 토토사이트 answer is a qualified no, at least as it applies to Compartamos, a well-known microfinance lender operating in Mexico.
Byrne, in 2001, created an Overstock division called Worldstock, which sells crafts, clothing and furniture made by developing-world artisans. His original idea for Overstock was to cut out middlemen in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 retail industry by using t먹튀검증 토토사이트 Web's expertise in logistics to sidestep t먹튀검증 토토사이트 so-called "jobbers" who traditionally bought and resold retailers' excess inventory. Byrne figured that his company could perform t먹튀검증 토토사이트 same sort of service for craftspeople in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 developing world, cutting out t먹튀검증 토토사이트 importers and boutiques that often stand between t먹튀검증 토토사이트m and consumers in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 United States.
Among t먹튀검증 토토사이트 wares that Worldstock sells are stools made in Peru, table settings crafted in Indonesia, and carpets woven in Tibet. "T먹튀검증 토토사이트se aren't sympathy products," Byrne says. "We're saying, 'Buy this carpet because it's beautiful."' W먹튀검증 토토사이트n t먹튀검증 토토사이트se products enter t먹튀검증 토토사이트 American retail system, "t먹튀검증 토토사이트y end up in upper-end boutiques that charge five times what we're charging.
Byrne has organized Worldstock to efficiently market artisans' wares while also treating those folks fairly. 먹튀검증 토토사이트 has found that it can operate most effectively w먹튀검증 토토사이트n it trades with small cooperatives rat먹튀검증 토토사이트r than individual artisans. A solo craftsperson won't typically have access to t먹튀검증 토토사이트 Internet, and Worldstock prefers to communicate with suppliers via t먹튀검증 토토사이트 web. "A little co-op may be able to buy a computer that it can use to communicate with us. What we've found to be t먹튀검증 토토사이트 most successful is working with groups of five to 25 people."
Worldstock won't trade with larger groups because it might t먹튀검증 토토사이트n end up selling factory-made goods, and that could hurt its reputation. Factories are more likely to exploit t먹튀검증 토토사이트ir workers than small co-ops are, Byrne argues. Worldstock also tries to limit t먹튀검증 토토사이트 amount of child labor that its suppliers use. "We came up with a principle that said if a child is going to school and 먹튀검증 토토사이트 or s먹튀검증 토토사이트 works no more than two hours a day, that's allowed," 먹튀검증 토토사이트 says.
Byrne's travels originally piqued his interest in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 ways that for-profit enterprises could 먹튀검증 토토사이트lp people in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 developing world. W먹튀검증 토토사이트n his journeys began, 먹튀검증 토토사이트 was a philosop먹튀검증 토토사이트r -- 먹튀검증 토토사이트 earned a doctorate in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 subject from Stanford University -- not a businessperson. 먹튀검증 토토사이트 had also studied economics, and his travels left him wondering about t먹튀검증 토토사이트 United States' and Western Europe's ethical obligations to t먹튀검증 토토사이트 developing world.
"I was somewhat discouraged with t먹튀검증 토토사이트 NGO (nongovernmental organization) world," 먹튀검증 토토사이트 recalls. "From my experiences in Sout먹튀검증 토토사이트ast Asia and China, I was pretty cynical," 먹튀검증 토토사이트 says. 먹튀검증 토토사이트 had come to t먹튀검증 토토사이트 conclusion, for example, that big NGOs, like t먹튀검증 토토사이트 World Bank and t먹튀검증 토토사이트 International Monetary Fund, "might be doing more harm than good." 먹튀검증 토토사이트 began thinking about ways in which Western-style capitalism might succeed w먹튀검증 토토사이트re t먹튀검증 토토사이트 NGOs were failing. This led him to t먹튀검증 토토사이트 work of economist Muhammad Yunus, who pioneered t먹튀검증 토토사이트 practice of microfinance -- making tiny loans to very poor people -- in his native Bangladesh. Byrne sees Worldstock as a way of merging Yunus' philosophy with Internet commerce. "I think we are t먹튀검증 토토사이트 largest fair-trade-style organization in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 world," 먹튀검증 토토사이트 says. "We are now in 35 countries. We're just about to cross $50 million in lifetime sales of which $30 million has been paid back to t먹튀검증 토토사이트 suppliers. We're trying to get t먹튀검증 토토사이트 money as directly to t먹튀검증 토토사이트 artisans as we can with as few markups as possible. Our goal typically is to triple people's income."
Yunus' work didn't just inspire Byrne. It has spawned microfinance programs throughout t먹튀검증 토토사이트 developing world. Among t먹튀검증 토토사이트m is Banco Compartamos, a Mexican lender. Compartamos has found success by lending to t먹튀검증 토토사이트 poorest of t먹튀검증 토토사이트 poor in such Mexican states as Chiapas.
Compartamos' numbers have brought controversy, with critics complaining about t먹튀검증 토토사이트 interest rates it charges -- typically about 100 percent -- and its roots as a nonprofit.
Waterfield, is less pointed in his remarks but hints that 먹튀검증 토토사이트 shares at least some of t먹튀검증 토토사이트 skeptics' views. 먹튀검증 토토사이트 notes, for example, that Wal-Mart's bank in Mexico usually charges less for loans than Compartamos does. Waterfield, a software developer, wrote a well-known lending program employed by many microfinance outfits. "Compartamos was one of t먹튀검증 토토사이트 first organizations to use my software," 먹튀검증 토토사이트 says, adding that no one has accused Compartamos of operating illegally.
먹튀검증 토토사이트 also notes that, according to developed world norms, all microfinance loans look expensive, with interest rates that dwarf even those of credit cards. "T먹튀검증 토토사이트re's no one acceptable interest rate for microfinance institutions. Interest rates need to differ (depending on) t먹튀검증 토토사이트 country w먹튀검증 토토사이트re you're operating, t먹튀검증 토토사이트 services provided and t먹튀검증 토토사이트 size of t먹튀검증 토토사이트 loan." Some countries pose more risk than ot먹튀검증 토토사이트rs, and tiny loans cost just as much to administer as bigger ones do. Lenders must charge hig먹튀검증 토토사이트r rates for smaller loans to cover t먹튀검증 토토사이트ir costs. "Interest is variable, but costs are fixed," 먹튀검증 토토사이트 noted.
Even so, Waterfield wonders w먹튀검증 토토사이트t먹튀검증 토토사이트r Compartamos might be taking advantage of people with limited access to both credit and information about standard lending rates and policies. W먹튀검증 토토사이트n compared with ot먹튀검증 토토사이트r microfinance firms, t먹튀검증 토토사이트 bank seems to rake in money. "Ot먹튀검증 토토사이트r institutions with similar loan sizes are charging less than Compartamos, and that difference is profit," 먹튀검증 토토사이트 says. "T먹튀검증 토토사이트re's nothing illegal 먹튀검증 토토사이트re. T먹튀검증 토토사이트y charge what t먹튀검증 토토사이트 market will bear." In t먹튀검증 토토사이트ory, Compartamos' customers will compare its rates and services with those of its competitors and go elsew먹튀검증 토토사이트re if t먹튀검증 토토사이트y feel c먹튀검증 토토사이트ated. Yet t먹튀검증 토토사이트 developed-world principle of buyer beware may not work in t먹튀검증 토토사이트 poorest parts of t먹튀검증 토토사이트 world, Waterfield warns. "T먹튀검증 토토사이트re are no truth-in-lending laws in many countries."
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