MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The International Bank of Bob,” by Bob Harris; published by Walker Publishing

“The International Bank of Bob;” by Bob Harris; published by the Walker Publishing Company, Inc.; March 2013; 400 pages, http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-international-bank-of-bob-9781620405222/

This book stems from the moment that US-based author Bob Harris met a group of South Asian day laborers while on assignment for ForbesTraveler.com in Dubai. The laborers had come to Dubai to work after being promised high wages and good working conditions, but received as little as USD 6 per day and were forced to work long hours. This encounter caused Mr Harris to think about the inequalities in the world caused by the “birth lottery,” the opportunities that some people receive because of the situation or location in which they are born. He returned home to the US with the goal of helping developing economies and the people from South Asia. Mr Harris searched the website of Kiva, a US-based online portal allowing individuals to make loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world, which then make loans to lower-income borrowers. Mr Harris made many loans via Kiva and began to think about the borrowers that the loans were intended to benefit. He decided to travel the world to meet them.

This book chronicles Mr Harris’s meetings with borrowers in Bosnia, Cambodia, Morocco, Peru, Rwanda and other countries and the day-to-day operations of the MFIs the people borrow from. In Bosnia, a country still feeling the economic repercussions of war, Mr Harris visited Zene za Zene, a humanitarian organization that works with women survivors of war. “Zagorka,” one of Zene za Zene’s borrowers, was on her fifth loan to buy and raise pigs and poultry to sell at profit.

In Kenya, Bob met with “Symon,” a borrower of Juhudi Kilimo, whose name means “agricultural effort.” Juhudi focuses on loans for raising livestock for later sale. Symon used his loans to raise cows and used the profits from that to grow coffee.

In Rwanda, Mr Harris visited another MFI, Urwego Opportunity Bank, whose name means “ladder.” There he met with Yvonne, a 30-year old borrower who sells fruits and household products such as pens and baking supplies. Before receiving loans, she and her three children shared a very small shack without electricity. As a result of borrowing several loans for her business, she and her family have a permanent home with a bed and roof.

By Megan McGowan, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Bank of Bob: “The International Bank of Bob,” http://www.bank-of-bob.com

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Kiva, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Kiva

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Juhudi Kilimo, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Juhudi+Kilimo

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Urwego Community Bank, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Urwego+Opportunity+Bank

MicroCapital Story, “Online Fundraiser Kiva, Microlender Microinvest of Moldova End Partnership,” April 10, 2013,?https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-online-fundraiser-kiva-microlender-microinvest-of-moldova-end-partnership/

MicroCapital Story, “Kiva Boosts Funding Raised for Microfinance Loans by $18m to $89m in 2011,”? May 21, 2012, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-kiva-boosts-funding-raised-for-microfinance-loans-loans-by-18m-to-89m-in-2011/

MicroCapital Story, “Kiva Piloting Peer-to-Peer Microfinance Lending Platform Kiva Zip in Kenya, San Francisco,”? January 26, 2012, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-capgemini-group-microworld-launch-digital-microfinance-platform/

MicroCapital Story, “17 Websites Now Allow Individuals to Commit as Little as USD 20 as Microfinance Loans,” May 5, 2011, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-17-websites-now-allow-individuals-to-commit-as-little-as-usd-20-as-microfinance-loans/

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