Tiniest of Loans Bring Big Payoff, Aid Group Says By KIRK SEMPLE writes that the Results Educational Fund, an organization that promotes small loans for self-employment projects among the world's poorest people, believes that it is on track to meet its nine-year goal of helping 100 million of the world's poorest families by 2005.

This looks to be their site. Anyway, the link is courtesy HUMAN LIBERTY (who's got a great post about NPR), and pointed me to Notes from a Broad, who's got some more info about microcredit, and also links to James Shikwati's I Do Not Need White NGOs To Speak for Me, and I also found George Ayittey's Africa's Shady Politicians Are at Root of Continent's Destitution:

Africa's potential is enormous, yet it is inexorably mired in steaming squalor, misery, deprivation, and chaos. Four out of 10 Africans live in absolute poverty and recent evidence suggests that poverty is on the increase. Most Africans today are worse off than they were at independence.

Why is Africa in this state? "Externalists" ascribe Africa's woes to factors beyond its control: Western colonialism and imperialism, the slave trade, racist plots, avaricious multinationals, an unjust international economic system, inadequate flows of foreign aid and deteriorating terms of trade.

"Internalists" blame local systems of governance: excessive state intervention and corruption at all levels, from the police and judiciary to the highest branches of government.

Which reminded me of Scott Atran's blaming social forces for terrorism. Of course outside forces matter, but surely the individual has some choice.