Micro-Meltdown: The Inside Story of the Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of the World’s Most Valuable Microlender

In this impassioned memoir, for-profit microfinance entrepreneur Akula (A Fistful of Rice) defends his legacy while also acknowledging mistakes in the wake of a wave of suicides among his former company’s clients. Akula and SKS Microfinance, which he founded to offer small loans to some of the world’s poorest people, were riding high after the firm’s 2010 IPO. But the euphoria didn’t last long. Later that year, news broke that as many as 200 borrowers, some from SKS, had killed themselves after facing relentless pressure from lenders to repay. The backlash against Akula, SKS, and the microfinance industry was swift, and after confrontations with the company’s board of directors over how to proceed after the scandal, Akula resigned in 2011. Saddened by the catastrophe, he nonetheless has not altered his stance that helping the destitute and making money are not mutually exclusive. Microfinance watchers will devour this sobering cautionary tale, and other would-be world-changing businesspeople would do well to learn from the missteps catalogued. (June)