Bøger af Malcolm Harper

The objective of this book is to provide information about entrepreneurship development programmes whose objective is to help people from the poorer groups in developing countries to create jobs for themselves by starting small enterprises. This information is intended for people who are responsible for directing small and medium enterprise promotion projects in developing countries. It should inform them about entrepreneurship development for these groups as it is currently being practiced, and enable them to decide whether or not to consider introducing this approach into their projects. If they do wish seriously to consider this, the information should help them to determine potentially promising methods and to identify sources of expertise from which they can conveniently obtain practical training, advice and experienced manpower.

The need for new forms of employment and economic diversification in rural areas has led to a growing interest in rural enterprise. This book is a collection of case studies, representing an overview of the problems and opportunities in this field.

The book examines Hindu, Christian and Muslim institutions in India and in Pakistan. Its main focus is the Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development programme, which has changed the lives of almost half a million people, through social and economic development programmes which are motivated by religious faith.

Cigarettes and soft drinks are available in just about every village in the developing world - clean water, primary education and health services are not. The main reason for this paradoxial and tragic situation is the failure to deliver public services, especially in the face of growing populations. What is more, the supply of essential services in most developing countries is grossly inequitable - those who need them the most are the least able to afford them. This important book suggests a strategy to overcome what appears to be an otherwise hopeless situation - ''micro-privatization''. Governments can hand over responsibility for many public services to small private or community enterprises. The quality, efficiency and outreach of the services are considerably improved, and the costs significantly reduced. To illustrate the efficacy of this strategy, Malcolm Harper presents twenty-four real life case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America, the USA and Europe, which amply demonstrate that micro-privatization is practical anywhere. The activities covered by these examples of successful initiatives include urban services, utilities, agricultural services, health and hygiene, transport, welfare and education.

Microcredit is the latest development fashion, and it has even received the ultimate accolade of a world summit It is not generally appreciated, however, that there is a wide variety of quite different approaches to the profitable delivery of financial services to the poor. Such services are being indeed, have for many years been provided by many different types of institution, including traditional commercial banks, NGOs and the much publicized new generation institutions. This book contains a selection of case studies from India, Bangladesh, East and Southern Africa, Indonesia and Latin America, together with many challenging comments and questions. Two points are made: first that there is no universally applicable methodology in the field, and second that well-managed microfinance can be profitable both for its customers and its providers; it is a business opportunity itself for bankers, and need not depend on donor assistance.

Value for Money? is the first book to systematically evaluate, measure and review the costs and benefits of small enterprise programmes through a range of examples of best practice from within the field. The authors have drawn on their extensive experience in business and as consultants within the enterprise development industry for this extensive study. They show that it is possible to measure and compare the costs and benefits of small enterprise development programmes, and that donors, NGOs, tax-payers and small business people themselves should demand that those who are responsible for such programmes must demonstrate that they are providing value for money. Value for Money? will be an invaluable guide to all those involved in small enterprise development programmes.

This book describes the experiences of a wide range of enterprises, banks and other agencies with partnership finance. Musharaka, or partnership financing, is a method used by Islamic financial institutions which reject the concept of fixed interest. It is, effectively, a much-simplified form of venture capital. It is generally recognized that small businesses and microenterprises can make effective use of institutional finance, and there is a wide range of methodologies through which such finance can be delivered to the owners of these enterprises, and recovered, in a way that is profitable for the businesses and self-sustaining for the financing institutions.

Proceedings of a Seminar Organized by The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO). Thirty-five representatives from developing countries and from national and international donor agencies met in The Hague to discuss the prospects and problems related to the provision of credit to small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries.

A collection of 28 case-studies from 17 countries, this book describes failures as well as successes, and provides stimulating material for students, teachers, trainers and business people themselves.

Small businesses are now viewed as an important element in even and equitable economic development. However, it is far easier to start, or expand, a large industry than a number of small ones. This book discusses conclusions based on case studies for small enterprises.

Consultancy for Small Businesses is the result of a six year experiment to provide an economic on-the-spot advisory service to small businesses in developing countries. It provides some solutions to the perennial problems of small-scale entrepreneurs.

Microfinance has been a long-lived development fashion and in 2005 it enjoyed the accolade of a UN International Year. Many of the world's biggest multinational banks are now eagerly committing quite substantial sums to it, for business as well as public relations purposes. However, there are some important problems which risk being ignored or are fleetingly observed but then swept under the carpet in the current euphoria. The authors sound a timely and overdue warning to governments, bankers, donors and the general public and urges people to pause, reassess their expectations, re-think some policies and to recognise that microfinance is never a panacea and may sometimes be actively damaging to its intended customers. This important book will be of interest to students of microfinance, microfinance practitioners internationally, bankers, government ministries and NGO donor agencies, training institutions, and academics in finance, economics and sociology.

Written for those whose job it is to assist people to start their own businesses, or who are considering the merits of group as opposed to individual enterprise, this book looks at 13 case studies which all contain important lessons.

* essential addition to the microfinance armoury

The New Middlewomen is the result of extensive research funded by the British Department for International Development and the Ford Foundation in Kenya and India and will be essential reading for bankers who wish to support the poor profitably and effectively, and all those with an interest in microfinance issues.