Gumball Capital

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m no longer going to be writing for Gumball University. I’ve started my own blog, Change Charity, and you can continue to read my posts there. The blog will expand on my work here, but focus more on the philanthropic sector. Essentially, it aims to encourage donors [...]

After David Roodman posted his Kiva critique “Kiva is not quite what it seems,” bloggers responded in a flurry of comments defending Kiva, condemning Kiva or just flat out rejecting the accusations. After I posted a document on this blog illustrating Kiva’s actual method of operation, in contrast to the one on their site, the [...]

David Roodman, on his microfinance blog, recently posted somewhat of an expose on Kiva, causing a raucous debate in his comment section and on other blogs. Basically, Roodman stated that Kiva doesn’t function the way it claims. (Since this post, due to outrage on the internet, Kiva has updated its “how Kiva works” page. An [...]

David Roodman at the Center for Global Development has published another summary of recent studies on microfinance’s efficacy. Most of the results do not support microfinance as a catch-all poverty alleviation tool, with no studies showing microfinance projects significantly increasing incomes or lowering poverty levels and the only real impact coming from other non-business focused [...]

You may remember Courtney and Casey’s debut post this last May entitled “Skin in the Game.” Following up on the personal sacrifice and unyielding drive involved in starting a social venture, the founders of Wokai now share with us the logistics of managing and growing an idea into something concrete.

Q.) What steps did you take [...]

The evidence supporting microfinance has long been critiqued as anecdotal or not scientific enough, but last week, the first randomized-controlled trial of microfinance was released as a working paper. I won’t go into too much detail here, as the Center for Global Development has an excellent summary of the article, but the findings are less-than [...]

There is a new Malcom Gladwell article that is making the rounds called “How David Beats Golaith” and it’s all about the characteristics of underdogs. It’s filled with typical Gladwellian fare: a handful of cute, impressive stories that you’ve never heard of, all driving home a few simple points.
One story is about an immigrant father [...]

Founders of Wokai, Courtney McCoglan and Casey Wilson, share what it takes to realize a great entrepreneurial idea. Wokai, an online micro-lending platform, went public in 2007 and has been successfully working to distribute loans to the working poor in China ever since. We are grateful for Courtney and Casey’s willingness to speak with [...]

Gumball Capital recently competed in the JP Morgan Good Venture Competition as finalists for a grand prize of $25,000. There were seven finalists selected from a group of around 125 applicants, so right from the start we felt incredibly privileged. Not only did we get to fly out to New York City for the final [...]

Microfinance has certainly proved itself as a successful grassroots development tool. But Oxfam, through its Savings for Change initiative, has brought microfinance to a new level of community-centered development.
In a report released last February, Oxfam’s Jeffrey Ashe outlines the concept of savings-led microfinance programs, which sets up lending groups in community where members can [...]