The fully funded United Nations only means that there would have sufficient financial resources to support the poverty-stricken people in remote areas; however, the difference between the fund and the social enterprise is that entrepreneurship related to the micro-finance also help people to develop technically. For example, they could offer local employment and teach people working skills.

Micro-finance in Mohammad Yunus’s book Banker to the Poor grabbed my attention. Through this book, I realize that true financial support is to empower the people, not to donate short term contributions to the people in need. As the former head of Bangladesh’s Gramineae Bank, Mohammad Yunus mentioned, “The solution to world poverty, founded on the belief that credit is a fundamental human right, is brilliantly simple: lend poor people money on terms that are suitable to them, teach them a few sound financial principles, and they will help themselves.” That means instead of acquiring donations, micro-finance should always concentrate on developing the society’s skill sets and business acumen to provide a future sustainable community.

Unlike charities, which do not eradicate poverty because of the poor’s over-dependence on aid, micro-finance encourages entrepreneurship, which expands local business. This encouragement towards entrepreneurship is vital in order to promote economic growth in regions that lack government investment in large industries.

Resources:

Mohammad Yunus: ” Banker to the Poor” 

http://www.bankertothepoor.com

Picture from:  NFEC Financial Education Resources and comprehensive solutions

http://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org