Saturday, December 18, 2010

Microfinance: Cutting Edge Like Clean Tech, Bio Tech, Nano Tech

Vinod KhoslaImage via WikipediaMicrofinance: A Zero Trillion Dollar Industry
Microfinance, Nanotech, Biotech, Software/Hardware/Connectivity
Vinod Khosla's Green Tech Sweep

I put microfinance in the same league as the sectors touted as the next big things: clean tech, bio tech, nano tech. People in the industry keep referring to the challenges in the last mile. When it is time to dole out the money, it gets complicated.

Web tech is relevant to all these emerging sectors. You are going to need specific kinds of software for specific tasks in nano tech, for example, although many generic web tech stuff will do just fine. The big minds in nano tech will still be on Facebook and Twitter, will they not?

Web tech has massive implications for clean tech. We want to be able to collect data on the entire planetary ecosystem, and we want anyone with a laptop and internet access to be able to see, to visualize what's going on.

Massive use of tech is what I envision for microfinance. That is where I intend to depart from all existing players. I love Kiva, but their non profit status is a major weight around their neck. That is another departure point.
Image representing Kiva as depicted in CrunchBaseImage via CrunchBase
But the primary thing is not tech, it is not the web. It is Zappos like focus on customer service.
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