Microfinance and Small Business Financing in India P.V. Viswanath Spring 2012 FIN 680V FIN 360

Course Focus This course will look at microfinance and small business finance in India. Students will learn about the economics of microfinance, both the concepts and the practice of this revolutionary technique that has changed the life of many poor families in developing countries and which has earned its originator, Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize.

Microfinance Visits One day seminar on microfinance in India at the Inst for Fin Mgmt and Research (IFMR) Chennai Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS), a microfinance unit in Thanjavur district. Our group will be part of a hands-on two-day internship program. Video of KGFS, Puduaaru

Small Enterprises and Education Small businesses in Auroville, an global village that is connected with the Aurobindo Ashram Small businesses in Pondicherry Small/medium enterprises in Chennai Great Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM), an educational institution with a global mindset and local roots. Unique in requiring all students to study Chinese language and culture.

Course Requirements Participation in Online Discussions Report on a topic of choice (to be selected in consultation with instructor) and powerpoint presentation (for graduate students only) Brief write-up (about two pages) on the trip as a whole plus more focused descriptions of two specific visits, not in the same industry/area (two pages per visit).

Summary This travel course promises to be unique in many ways – –in covering an exciting area of modern finance, –in visiting a rural Indian locale to see the application of these financial ideas directly, –in allowing students to participate personally in some of these ventures and –in introducing students to a historic part of south India that is not visited by many travellers to India.