Jay Liew
Jay Liew is a high-tech startup entrepreneur focused on the intersection of cloud computing, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and mobile applications. He wants to change the world with technology or die trying. When not playing ice hockey, he finds time to sleep. Jay holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science.
As a technologist, I've always passionately believed in the power of technology to change the world. However, that power can be abused. I think that in today's market, greed simply caught up with men who used technology to walk over the line.
I recently read this interesting New York Times Op-Ed titled "The Rise of the Machines"
"BEWARE of geeks bearing formulas." So saith Warren Buffett, the Wizard of Omaha. Words to bear in mind as we bail out banks and buy up mortgages and tweak interest rates and nothing, nothing seems to make any difference on Wall Street or Main Street. Years ago, Mr. Buffett called derivatives "weapons of financial mass destruction"
In other words, this entire economic mess, impacting the world ... stems from some math formulas.
An important counterpoint to this comes from Muhammad Yunus, father of microfinance, in this short insightful Business Week video:
He says that the market needs to find its own self-correcting mechanism. The more speculative you get, the more you must set aside for a "rainy day" fund. A government bailout is akin to running to mommy and daddy for help. This mechanism needs to be designed right now, right when we need it the most, right when we're feeling the pain the most. Because when times are good, we're not going to be convinced that we're going to need that rainy day fund.
Now that's good advice, at the 100,000 foot view that encompasses the global economy. Diving in to the 100 foot view, the microentrepreneurs that Wokai funds learn how to "self-correct" their business every day. We don't just say, "Hi there, lucky winner. Here's some money from some unknown person across the globe who found your picture on the Internet. Hope this helps, and good luck!"
A certain % of the microloan is allocated towards the microentrepreneur's education and training (e.g. how to budget, domain knowledge specific to the business, etc.) - which in turn increase the odds of success by a few orders of magnitude. With even higher microloan repayment rates, Wokai is then able to recycle these loans and fund even more microentrepreneurs. It's a positive cycle that slowly rids the world of poverty.
Wokai is not a free handout. Fundamentally, microfinance is about empowering people to lift themselves out of poverty. Yes, they have to work for it and at times, self-correct.
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