Why are the rich becoming richer while the poor seem to be forever stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty?
Businesses often use financial leverage to multiply their investment returns. It is easy for businessmen in developed countries to get access to capital which they can use in many ways like infrastructure upgrades, research, smoothen business processes, hire staff etc
Accepted collateral are recognized assets with a title deed. This includes things like land, real estate, fixed deposits, insurance policies, stock equities, vehicles, business inventories and business invoices.
BUT what if..
You don't have a title deed for your land
You don't have ownership papers for your machinery
You don't have formal records of your livestock
You don't have a bank account
You don't have projected sales
You are not aware that you can borrow money for your business
ie You are an illiterate farmer in rural Asia where assets are not registered and therefore cannot be used as collateral for debt financing.
This situation has many rural people unable to break out of poverty because without access to capital, they are not able to scale their businesses or invest in business improvement to get to a profitable stage.
SO WHY ISN'T ANYBODY DOING ANYTHING?
The poor people affected are not educated and hence lack the knowledge to even try to break fee
Financial institutions and governments cannot be bothered as the fate of the poor is not directly relevant to them
It is very costly to introduce and maintain formal asset records so nobody wants to take on the task
Livestock is difficult to value as an asset
It is risky to lend money to farmers as their income streams are highly unpredictable
WHY SHOULD WE CARE, since even the governments of these affect countries don't?
We should help our fellow humans!
Unlocking their dead capital will also unlock their economic productivity which will improve their national GDP and reduce the risk of national debt default that might kickstart a global crisis
Our cost of living will go down because they will be able to produce more cost effectively than developed countries
Ok, you got me convinced. HOW CAN WE HELP?
Sentinel Chain has a big mission to solve the problem of the lack of affordable finance to the rural unbanked.
Digital system to identify, quantify and verify livestock ownership
--> financial institutions can rely on this information for risk assessment
Pooling local markets to form a scalable marketplace where farmers can liquidate their produce
--> smoothen out volatile income streams and provide monetization for loan repayment
Matching offshore credit facilities to local people
--> the locals have access to uncorrupt and established global financial services
That's great, but how can I help AS AN INDIVIDUAL?
