Here's an innovative idea in social entrepreneurship, fresh out of Indonesia: Nonprofit organizations going capitalist, and buying banks.That's what relief outfit Mercy Corps did, to give it an instant country-wide network for its microfinance projects. Bank Andara could serve as a funding clearinghouse for 2,000 microcredit programs across Indonesia, and with its existing web of ATMs, make accessing cash quick and easy.
It's all recounted in the latest edition of BusinessWeek, and chief exec Neal Keny-Guyer spells out why the ultra-capitalist route makes sense for do-gooder organizations too. If the $300-million, 3,500-employee NGO likes what it sees from Bank Andara, banks in other countries like the Philippines might be next.
An added bonus: Given the current state of the banking industry, nonprofits could pick up financial institutions for a song, if they were so inclined. (See: Washington Mutual, Wachovia, Citibank, etc.) Just make sure you're not getting their toxic debt as part of the deal.
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