Alan,
I am very interested in your Microcredit document.
I’ll contact you after I have read your document to discuss some
potential next steps.
-----Original Message-----
From: AlanKotok@cs.com [mailto:AlanKotok@cs.com]
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2003
7:35 PM
To: zack2@cris.com;
ebxml-mktg@lists.ebxml.org
Subject: Re: [ebxml-mktg] [Q]
ebXML and the International Year of Micro-credit in 2005
Zachary:
You're on to something. Microcredit is phenomenon that seems to good to
be true. It has had extraordinary success as an enabler of small
business, and for the empowerment of women in traditional societies.
Interest rates are normally higher than most business loans, but repayment
rates are also much higher than traditional banking practice. This past Sping I
attended an event sponsored by Vital Voices, where a woman from Jordan was
honored for her work starting microcredit programs.
I prepared a document that sketches out microcredit processes and how they
could apply ebXML, that I can send you separately if you wish. Because
microcredit depends largely on interpersonal group dynamics to decide on the
granting of loans and to encourage loan repayment, ebXML by itself would not
likely make a significant impact. But using microcredit as an initial
application can help establish small business networks and encourage other
applications (e.g. logistics, catalog marketing) to take advantage of these
networks.
Please call me during the week my office (202-326-8965) if you want to discuss
further.
Alan Kotok
AlanKotok@cs.com
http://www.technewslit.com/
Author: Handbook of EDI, 2003 edition (Thompson/RIA, Fall 2003)
Editor, ebXML Forum, http://www.ebxmlforum.org/