> Posted by Michelle Romeu
This week, we highlight a pair of face-offs. The first is a debate between Felix Salmon and Matt Bishop, and the second, a kerfuffle involving Grameen Bank and a Norwegian television network. Rounding out the blogosphere’s best are Brazil and microsavings.
- NextBillion spotlights Beleza Natural, a Brazilian salon founded by a former nanny and hairdresser, two former McDonald’s assistants, and an ex-cab driver—one of the best base-of-the-pyramid success stories. For a bilingual bonus, the post also links to the original Portuguese version on NextBillion Brasil.
- Charissa Sparks of the MediaGlobal blog discusses the benefits of microsaving, and includes helpful advice about the best and safest microsaving methods.
- On CGAP’s Microfinance Blog, Nimrah Karim, and Mohammed Khaled explore the process of taking Islamic microfinance to scale, describing how this “niche industry” is unique and looking towards its future.
- David Roodman offers an update on the “duel” between Grameen Bank and the Norwegian TV network NRK, including letters going back and forth between the two.
- Check out Felix Salmon’s post on his Reuters blog, in which he links to the ongoing for-profit microfinance debate — including videos — between himself and Matt Bishop of the Economist.