描述
开 本: 16开纸 张: 胶版纸包 装: 精装是否套装: 否国际标准书号ISBN: 9781422131176
What Paul Farmer is to infectious disease, Vikram Akula is to
poverty, and his quest has been as harrowing and heart-breaking as
Farmer’s. Scene by scene, Akula reveals how he pieced together the
best of philanthropy and–to his own surprise–the best of
capitalism to serve millions of India’s poor. Akula’s
transformation from activist to entrepreneur to corporate executive
parallels that of each SKS Microfinance “member” from pauper to
customer to business woman. In creating a high-performance
enterprise of true professionals, Vikram has done what other
microfinancing models have failed to do, which is to achieve the
scale, the scope, and the profitability necessary to sustain its
efforts without ongoing fundraising. It is a remarkable
entrepreneurial journey, populated by a colorful cast of characters
including India’s political star, Rahul Gandhi.
An “engaging account…” – Fast Company
Of the world’s most pressing problems, poverty is perhaps the most
troubling. Various solutions have been proposed; and microfinance –
the lending of small loans and financial services to impoverished
individuals – is the latest solution with great promise. But it’s
not without its flaws. According to a recent article in
LiveMint.com/The Wall Street Journal, the “microfinance industry in
India is passing through one of its most difficult phases.”
Though early microfinance firms attracted widespread attention,
these initial attempts failed to achieve the scale, scope and
profitability necessary to substantially combat poverty. But that
changed with the creation of SKS Microfinance. In A Fistful of
Rice, SKS founder Vikram Akula tells the inspirational story of the
company’s creation. Akula reveals how he pieced together
philanthropy and traditional business principles to solve age-old
problems in new ways. A captivating read, A Fistful of Rice offers
lessons for anyone seeking to transform tenacity, creativity and
innovation into potent tools for fighting even the most seemingly
intractable human burdens.
“This absorbing book tells the story of how Vikram Akula turned an
idealistic vision into a thriving business that today serves
millions of poor women in India. I have witnessed firsthand how SKS
Microfinance has had an amazing impact in India compared to other
poverty-reduction programs.” – Vinod Khosla, Cofounder, Sun
Microsystems, and Principal, Khosla Ventures
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 “Am I Not Poor, Too?”
Chapter 2 Putting the Last First
Chapter 3 The Story of My Experiments with Grameen
Chapter 4 Rangoli Powder and Handfuls of Seeds
Chapter 5 The McDonald’s of Microfinance
Chapter 6 Goat Economics
Chapter 7 Google Territory
Acknowledgments
About the Author
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