Yesterday we tweeted a chapter-by-chapter review of Vikram Akula's new book, A Fistful of Rice: My Unexpected Quest to End Poverty. In case you missed them onTwitter, here is the full review for you, tweet by tweet:
In his new book #vikramakula = Yunus version 2.0. Mantra: not earning profit is unethical. http://amzn.to/barLrm #SKS
Ch. 1: #vikramakula thumbs across US w/$20, finds morality and proves Nietzsche wrong. #SKS to follow. http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 2 #vikramakula as a development worker, learns how tough village life is and how tough-minded village women are. http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 2: New ideology, “putting the last first.” Development must be participatory! (Easier said than done) http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 3: Grameen initiation. #vikramakula emulates Yunus, vows to outperform him. Oedipus? http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 3: 1998. #SKS starts w/$52k from friends. Idea: commercialize! 1st: pull strings to avoid corruption. http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 4: 12/98: 165 members, 8 villages. Fighting thugs and biases. OK start, but how to get huge? http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 5: New idea: Standardize, exploit tech. Still, old-style problems: thugs, a fatwa, guerillas. http://amzn.to/barLrm #SKS
Ch 5: 2002, #vikramakula divorced, emotionally spent, in debt. Hello McKinsey, Chicago. http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 6: 2005 Rahul Gandhi visits #SKS. 120K borrowers. Feeling big, but quests for bigger. http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 6: 2006 200K borrowers. Sits down w/Gates and Buffett. WSJ notices. VCs put in $11.5m. Big time! http://amzn.to/barLrm #SKS
Ch 6: #vikramakula: High profit is more ethical than nonprofit #microfinance. Yunus: Scroundrels! http://amzn.to/barLrm
Ch 7: Google territory. #SKS future: cross-marketing and aggregating buying power. Happy ending? http://amzn.to/barLrm
Fistful of Rice: Great story. Now waiting for the other side of it. http://amzn.to/barLrm
Editor’s Note: I’m going to assume that you are seeing plenty of AI content (news and papers, not AI slop, though I’m sure you’re getting plenty of that too) from other sources, so I’m trying to think hard about the marginal value that the faiV can provide. As far as I’ve gotten so far: a) make sure that directly AI-related content does not take up more than 2 of the 5 items, and b) try to focus specifically on the cybersecurity issue for financial inclusion. Beyond that, I’m open to feedback on the value you get from the faiV in relation to AI to help guide us in the future. On a different note, I’ll be making a brief cameo appearance at the e-MFP Inclusive Finance Conference to moderate the opening plenary. If you haven’t registered, do so and I hope to see you there! - Tim Ogden