A good column by Hernando de Soto on the importance of title and housing appeared in yesterday’s International Herald Tribune. The lack of title and legal ownership prevents people from moving from an income-based cycle, which too easily keeps people forever in poverty, to an asset-based one whereby the poor can borrow against their homes to invest in other productive activities like their own businesses or education. It is worth reading and thinking about how Acumen Fund might integrate itself into this wider discussion.
I too believe that this is by far the most important tool to lift the world’s poor out of poverty. Have there been any success stories in the third world that we can point to? What NGO’s are working on this issue? Where does the US government stand on this? The UN? How are we helping?
Reply to Laura LauderThose are great questions, which we will plan to explore in future posts. We’d love to open up this dialogue to the broader Acumen Fund partner community as well to surface successes and lessons learned in this area.
Reply to JacquelineThis is a hot topic for us here in South Africa, legal tender is loosly tied to political promises, and difficult for the affected to access.
Reply to InternAfrica