ALTRUISM 10X – Ending Extreme Global Poverty
Public Group active 2 months, 1 week agoWho are the “Bottom Billion”? These are the 1.4 billion people who live at the very bottom, in extreme poverty on less than $1.25/day.
Can we help them? Yes. Microfinance offers a way out, but, according to Tom Coleman (Founder of this Group here on our Shift Network), a new kind of microfinance focus is needed.
This Shift Group, focused on ending extreme global poverty, will discuss and showcase microfinance that already includes some of the Bottom Billion and could serve more, and you will learn what you can do, here, today, to help solve this critical global problem.
Tom Coleman, founder of Microfinance Consulting and former Director of Research and Development for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), calls it Bottom Billion Microfinance (BBM).
Tom asks: How can we re-channel our focus to highlight this population?
Two-thirds of the bottom billion live in only four countries. Further, a modest 15 countries have the highest concentration of people living on less than $1/day, and together represent 80% of all people who live on less than $1/day. A total of 31 countries have over 40% of their people in the bottom billion – most are in Africa.
The important questions we need to answer are: what kinds of holistic poverty-ending services should be provided? What kinds of incentives can increase the number of bottom billion served, and the quality of services they receive? Ending poverty is not a financial services-only business. Microfinance has made remarkable strides since its conception in the 1970s. As our world continues to develop, we must continually revisit how we’ve been fighting poverty. We must establish new techniques and standards so that the bottom billion are not left behind.
