Product Overview

This case serves multiple teaching purposes. It can be used effectively in an entrepreneurship course or for a discussion of entrepreneurship in the context of nonprofit organizations. Women's World Banking (WWB) is a unique worldwide financial institution that serves as an international model for the delivery of credit and management expertise to microbusinesses in less-developed economies. WWB represents the breakthrough innovation in market creation, product development, and new organizational forms discussed by Joseph Schumpeter (an economist who studied entrepreneurship). The organization is a network that operates with autonomous affiliates connected in a global web. The case focuses on the creation of the organization and its founding entrepreneur. It is a useful tool for discussing the characteristics of entrepreneurial founders, innovation, and growth challenges in the early years. It can be used effectively with the Harvard Business School case on Women's World Banking to discuss leadership succession and further challenges of rapid growth.