Technology can be a double-edged sword – especially when it comes to small business lending. And for socially focused lenders serving low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs, both the risks and the rewards of alternative lending are more acute.Gina Harman, CEO of Accion’s U.S. Network discusses the organization's ambitious effort to digitize lending o…

People are famously irrational when it comes to financial matters. We can't seem to resist wasting money on things that we know aren't beneficial. Why do we make self-defeating financial decisions, and how can we be persuaded to change them? Evelyn Stark, financial inclusion lead at MetLife Foundation, discusses the ways financial services provider…

Millions of Americans are facing "a shocking level" of income and expense volatility - much like what's experienced in emerging markets. That's the key finding of a new book by Rachel Schneider, Senior Vice President at CFSI, and Jonathan Morduch of New York University. Called "The Financial Diaries, How American Families Cope in a World of Uncerta…

An interview with Robert Netzly, the founder and CEO of the conservative Christian-focused investment firm Inspire Investing, and a leader of the "Biblically Responsible Investing" movement.Von NextBillion

Initial public offerings have been a controversial topic in microfinance ever since the industry's early days, and rightly so. The IPOs of Compartamos in Mexico and SKS Microfinance in India showed that microfinance could be highly profitable for investors, but also sparked hyper commercialization and debt crises that rocked the sector, harming its…

The election of Donald Trump has led to quite a bit of soul searching among people on the opposite side of the political spectrum - including many in social business. A few days after the election, Jonathan Lewis, a serial social entrepreneur tireless advocate for the sector, sent out a heartfelt email to his extensive following: In it, he criticiz…