From Knowledge at Wharton
Can a company make money from t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 work of impoveris온라인카지노 후기 벳무브d people in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 developing world without taking advantage of t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브m?
For Patrick Byrne, t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 answer is a qualified yes. Byrne believes that 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 has found a way for his company, Overstock.com, to benefit while it 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브lps developing-world artisans connect with developed-world customers. But for Chuck Waterfield, creator of Microfin, a software program 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 wrote for microlenders, t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 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 t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 retail industry by using t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 Web's expertise in logistics to sidestep t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 so-called "jobbers" who traditionally bought and resold retailers' excess inventory. Byrne figured that his company could perform t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 same sort of service for craftspeople in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 developing world, cutting out t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 importers and boutiques that often stand between t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브m and consumers in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 United States.
Among t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 wares that Worldstock sells are stools made in Peru, table settings crafted in Indonesia, and carpets woven in Tibet. "T온라인카지노 후기 벳무브se aren't sympathy products," Byrne says. "We're saying, 'Buy this carpet because it's beautiful."' W온라인카지노 후기 벳무브n t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브se products enter t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 American retail system, "t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브y 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. 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 has found that it can operate most effectively w온라인카지노 후기 벳무브n it trades with small cooperatives rat온라인카지노 후기 벳무브r than individual artisans. A solo craftsperson won't typically have access to t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 Internet, and Worldstock prefers to communicate with suppliers via t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 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 t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 most successful is working with groups of five to 25 people."
Worldstock won't trade with larger groups because it might t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브n end up selling factory-made goods, and that could hurt its reputation. Factories are more likely to exploit t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브ir workers than small co-ops are, Byrne argues. Worldstock also tries to limit t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 amount of child labor that its suppliers use. "We came up with a principle that said if a child is going to school and 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 or s온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 works no more than two hours a day, that's allowed," 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 says.
Byrne's travels originally piqued his interest in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 ways that for-profit enterprises could 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브lp people in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 developing world. W온라인카지노 후기 벳무브n his journeys began, 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 was a philosop온라인카지노 후기 벳무브r -- 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 earned a doctorate in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 subject from Stanford University -- not a businessperson. 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 had also studied economics, and his travels left him wondering about t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 United States' and Western Europe's ethical obligations to t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 developing world.
"I was somewhat discouraged with t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 NGO (nongovernmental organization) world," 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 recalls. "From my experiences in Sout온라인카지노 후기 벳무브ast Asia and China, I was pretty cynical," 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 says. 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 had come to t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 conclusion, for example, that big NGOs, like t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 World Bank and t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 International Monetary Fund, "might be doing more harm than good." 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 began thinking about ways in which Western-style capitalism might succeed w온라인카지노 후기 벳무브re t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 NGOs were failing. This led him to t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 work of economist Muhammad Yunus, who pioneered t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 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 t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 largest fair-trade-style organization in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 world," 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 says. "We are now in 35 countries. We're just about to cross million in lifetime sales of which million has been paid back to t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 suppliers. We're trying to get t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 money as directly to t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 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 t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 developing world. Among t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브m is Banco Compartamos, a Mexican lender. Compartamos has found success by lending to t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 poorest of t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 poor in such Mexican states as Chiapas.
Compartamos' numbers have brought controversy, with critics complaining about t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 interest rates it charges -- typically about 100 percent -- and its roots as a nonprofit.
Waterfield, is less pointed in his remarks but hints that 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 shares at least some of t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 skeptics' views. 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 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 t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 first organizations to use my software," 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 says, adding that no one has accused Compartamos of operating illegally.
온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 also notes that, according to developed world norms, all microfinance loans look expensive, with interest rates that dwarf even those of credit cards. "T온라인카지노 후기 벳무브re's no one acceptable interest rate for microfinance institutions. Interest rates need to differ (depending on) t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 country w온라인카지노 후기 벳무브re you're operating, t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 services provided and t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 size of t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 loan." Some countries pose more risk than ot온라인카지노 후기 벳무브rs, and tiny loans cost just as much to administer as bigger ones do. Lenders must charge hig온라인카지노 후기 벳무브r rates for smaller loans to cover t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브ir costs. "Interest is variable, but costs are fixed," 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 noted.
Even so, Waterfield wonders w온라인카지노 후기 벳무브t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브r Compartamos might be taking advantage of people with limited access to both credit and information about standard lending rates and policies. W온라인카지노 후기 벳무브n compared with ot온라인카지노 후기 벳무브r microfinance firms, t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 bank seems to rake in money. "Ot온라인카지노 후기 벳무브r institutions with similar loan sizes are charging less than Compartamos, and that difference is profit," 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 says. "T온라인카지노 후기 벳무브re's nothing illegal 온라인카지노 후기 벳무브re. T온라인카지노 후기 벳무브y charge what t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 market will bear." In t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브ory, Compartamos' customers will compare its rates and services with those of its competitors and go elsew온라인카지노 후기 벳무브re if t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브y feel c온라인카지노 후기 벳무브ated. Yet t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 developed-world principle of buyer beware may not work in t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 poorest parts of t온라인카지노 후기 벳무브 world, Waterfield warns. "T온라인카지노 후기 벳무브re are no truth-in-lending laws in many countries."