Microfinance’s Next Frontier
LeapFrog Investments aims to insure the poor on a grand scale.
A subsistence farmer in South Africa gets regular text messages on his cell phone reminding him to take his antiretroviral medication, so his HIV keeps from blossoming into full-blown AIDS. In exchange, he gets life insurance, for the equivalent of about $35 a month. With his $35,000 life insurance policy in his pocket, the farmer can finally qualify for a mortgage or business loan. Slowly, the financial world that was closed off to him starts to unfurl a ribbon of possibility.
He’s getting...
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One of 16 special essays on how the field of social innovation has evolved and what challenges remain ahead.
One of 16 special essays on how the field of social innovation has evolved and what challenges remain ahead.




