Guest post by one of our Board Members, James Ferrari.

In the past couple of weeks the microfinace debate has picked up again with the release of David Roodman's new book "Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance". Even though I haven't yet read the book, I can almost surely assert that it is an excellent and well-researched work, as I have been following Mr. Roodman's Microfinance Open-Book blog for more than a year now.



One of…

"Every complexity, we are told, is the process of evolution. Yet our development planners seem to think that they can do better...that they can create complex things at one throw by a process called planning."

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As we all know corruption is one of the biggest challenges to sustainable economic development in all African countries, Zambia being no exception. The newly elected president Michael Sata spoke on the issue:

“I am sounding a timely warning that my Government has taken a zero tolerance…

Three years ago I had to make a decision about how much I wanted to change the world. Still drawn to Zambia after returning home from 2 1/2 years of service with the peace corps, my first thought on how to continue to make a difference was to raise money for the community school in my old village who was struggling after an NGO pulled their support. It would have been simple. Raise a few thousand dollars, build a school and feel good. As is often the case however when we…

Through such blog posts me and Sarah will be sharing with you some of the important updates from the ground in Zambia. As you know Sarah, our founder, is in Zambia right now, doing monitoring and evaluations work, following up with Color Me In! borrowers and partner organizations.

If you have any…

Originally posted on Future Agricultures here.

By Dr Samuel Gebreselassie…

By Miriam Gathigah. Originally posted on IPS.

Tafadzwa Muropa at the Global Women's Forum in Busan. …

The article is originally posted on Dowser

October 20th, 2011 12:52 PMBy Rachel Signer

Some people look at sub-Saharan Africa and see conflict, hardship, and poverty.

Others look at Africa and see a…

What do you do if a donor or Foundation wants to give money to your non-profit, but has specific programs that it would like the money to fund? What if these programs do not fall 100% into your core mission, but in hard times money is money?

This article from the Harvard Business Review addresses the current…

First off, i am very excited to be part of the movement that is revisiting the development foundations of Mother Zambia, i view my self as an honorary development practitioner.Having had the opportunity to be part of the pioneering movement of micro finance in Zambia way back in 2000 when i worked for Cetzam as Loan Officer and then later went on to join FINCA as credit officer from 2005 to 2008.I feel that even though micro finance in Zambia has weaved its tapestry through unfavorable…

Congratulations Zambia! You have just passed through a major landmark of growth and the world is putting its hands together to salute your courage. 

Why?

You are a small developing country sandwiched between some of the most…

Two of our clients over the past year have chosen to keep pigs, and now many of the original sows are giving birth.

• The Mupimbishi Women have moved from four pigs to over a dozen, while the 
• JFFLS Community School is now the proud owner of over 20 piglets from an original group of five. 

Great, so what does this mean?

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When CMI was still a fuzzy idea and we had no idea how to bring to life our desire to continue work in Zambia, former Peace Corps Volunteer and CMI Advisor Ned Baker and I visited the National Geographic Society in Washington DC to hear the story of Wangari Mathaai. It is no exaggeration to say that after…