Microcredit

Micro-lending was supposed to save the world’s poor from big, overseas lenders; but, an article in this morning’s New York Times reveals that although the theories behind micro-finance seem to work, the actual loans don’t.

An ambitious social experiment will launch later this year that will test Americans’ ability and willingness not just to give, but to give to one another. The Takeaway talks with Premal Shah, the president of Kiva, an online micro-lender.

Microloans have helped some of the poorest people in the developing world become entrepreneurs. They, too, are part of the global financial web that is now in crisis. The World’s Lisa Mullins speaks with Alex Counts of the Grameen Foundation.