David Roodman was recognized in this Harvard Business Review piece on Yunus and Mortensen.
Are you sowing the seeds of your own ignominious end? Two of the most inspirational stories in social entrepreneurship have taken quite a beating recently. The microfinance industry has in just a few years gone from making headlines for the Nobel Peace Prize to stories about limited impact, allegedly abusive tactics, client suicides, government crackdowns, major lenders struggling with insolvency and the forcible removal of Mohammed Yunus as Managing Director of Grameen Bank. Just this week, Greg Mortensen came crashing down as investigative reporters documented exaggerations, inaccuracies, and shady financial practices. These reversals may seem sudden, but they were years in the making. In both cases, the blame can be laid at the feet of the protagonists of the stories.
In the case of microfinance, the situation is quite complex and politics plays a major factor in the crises in both Andhra Pradesh and at Grameen (David Roodman is an excellent guide). But we shouldn't ignore how the microfinance industry made itself vulnerable to attacks with a political motive.