Triple bottom line on steroids through macrocredits | Marieke van den Wall Bake | TEDxIUM

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. What would you do if you could invest in for-profit businesses that reduce poverty, decrease urbanization, and stimulate economic activities, whilst simultaneously tackling social and economic conditions in Africa? At TEDxIUM, Marieke van den Wall Bake speaks about an innovative idea, which empowers rural communities to determine their economic and social prosperity through Macrocredit-financed Village Companies.

Marieke van den Wall Bake is Director of Development with Village Inc. Africa. Frustrated by the unsustainability of hand-outs, she seeks innovative solutions to foster independence, ownership and a sense of dignity. Village Inc. Africa, which has developed the Macrocredit for Village Companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, allows her to harness her diverse professional experience with a strong sense of social and cultural engagement and the outlook of significant positive change. Village Companies, financed by Macrocredits, are for-profit companies owned and managed by the leadership of a rural village. The profits of their businesses are used to finance social needs in the village, thus enabling villagers to take care of themselves.

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