Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic by Hugh Sinclair

Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic by Hugh Sinclair

Very little solid evidence exists that microloans make a dent in long-term poverty. Sadly, evidence does exist for negligence, corruption, and methods that border on extortion. Part expos , part memoir, and part financial detective story, this is the account of a one-time true believer whose decade in the industry turned him into a heretic.

Hugh Sinclair worked with several microfinance institutions around the world. He couldn't help but notice that even with a booming $70 billion industry on their side, the poor didn't seem any better off. Exorbitant interest rates led borrowers into never-ending debt spirals, and aggressive collection practices resulted in cases of forced prostitution, child labor, suicide, and nationwide revolts against the microfinance community.

Sinclair weaves a shocking tale of a system increasingly focused on maximizing profits--particularly once large banks got involved. He details his discovery of several scandals, one of the most disturbing involving a large African microfinance institution of questionable legality that charged interest rates in excess of 100 percent per year and whose investors and supporters included some of the most celebrated leaders of the microfinance sector. Sinclair's objections were first met with silence, then threats, attempted bribery, and a court case, and eventually led him to become a principal whistleblower in a sector that had lost its soul.

Microfinance can work--Sinclair describes moving experiences with several ethical and effective organizations and explains what made them different. But without the fundamental reforms that Sinclair recommends here, microfinance will remain an investment opportunity that will leave the poor with hollow promises and empty pockets.

Hugh Sinclair lives in Bariloche (Argentina) with his Dutch wife and two daughters. He is an author, economist, former investment banker, and has worked in the development finance sector for the last two decades. In 2001 he successfully established the Guinness World Record for the fastest traverse of the Americas (Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina) by motorbike, fully sponsored and raising money for UK charity Action Aid. He has traversed the entire Carretera Austral fifteen times, by car and motorbike, including one trip with his heavily pregnant wife, and three trips with his eldest daughter, now aged 9, and a contributor to the 'travelling with kids' section.This edition has been updated with the help of Edward Menard, a gap year student who was looking to do something exciting and innovative before starting his degree at UCL when he became involved with the Carretera Austral. With family in Bariloche and a love of the great outdoors, and unburdened by jobs and studies, he became an obsessive Carretera expert and spent days wondering about why huemuls are dying out and buses don't ever arrive when expected, hoping that such insights may help others to explore this glorious region. Based in the south of England, he speaks Spanish and German.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781609945183
ISBN 10	1609945182
Title	Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic
Author	Hugh Sinclair
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Year published	2012-07-09
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.