Kommentare zu: Microcredit and Development — a Critique https://gedankenraum.neuerplan.org/2011/06/02/microcredit-and-development-a-critique/ Meine Gedanken. Deine Gedanken. Unsere Gedanken Fri, 21 Jun 2013 07:49:17 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 Von: Christoph https://gedankenraum.neuerplan.org/2011/06/02/microcredit-and-development-a-critique/comment-page-1/#comment-21284 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:43:54 +0000 http://gedankenraum.neuerplan.org/?p=1396#comment-21284 Dear Roberto, thank you for your thoughts! You are right both that microcredit is certainly not useless, and that (at least from an Action5-perspective) top down cannot be the whole answer. This leads to the question: What is the best that we can do, personally and as a group?

And there I feel we could consider moving into the „bigger“ business direction. We have been asked in the past and we are being asked (even more if we put the possibility out there) to help fund business. And I think it would be in the normal framework of negotiating the conditions for our support with our partners to stress the aspect of job-creation.

Business eduction certainly won’t hurt, and actually happens at „my“ school, but all in all I am very convinced that having many small-scale „entrepreneurs“ does not move the society forward a lot.

]]> Von: Robert https://gedankenraum.neuerplan.org/2011/06/02/microcredit-and-development-a-critique/comment-page-1/#comment-21255 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:43:36 +0000 http://gedankenraum.neuerplan.org/?p=1396#comment-21255 The arguments sound plausible, but as this seems to be in defense of top-down-development-policies, I’d be cautious to draw such strong conclusions: The weaknesses of micro-credits might not render them senseless, e.g. giving micro credits in Indian communities seemed to help to some extent. We ourselves have some micro-funding in Tanzania — is it a poverty trap? Creating „Big“ buinesses on our own would lead to a conflict with our self-imposed principle to not impose ideas upon local communities; secondly its a delicate issue to set up businesses without having an idea about the demand-sides. And about unforseen contingencies (as may happen in poultry farming etc.)…?
Education — always a big issue. Isnt it the same in Germany: If students do not know what they#re learning for, motivation shrinks?
Combining both: What about business education? Having „entrepreneurs“ teach how to take risks and to manage start-ups? Or integrating a prototype business in school agenda (e.g. school farm, clothing business…)?

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