This course counts toward the following majors: Finance, Social Enterprise, International Business

Historically excluded by traditional financial service providers, the majority of the world’s three billion people living on less than $2 per day have no access to formal savings, loan, insurance and payment services. Over the past 35 years, specialized microfinance institutions have sprung up around the world to meet the financial needs of poor people and help lift them out of poverty. This class provides an in-depth overview of the global microfinance business, tracing its evolution from a social, NGO-dominated movement to an increasingly commercial $50-billion industry. Readings, lectures and case studies will be used to highlight current microfinance practices and explore how global capital markets are responding to the huge latent demand for financial services from the poor. Students will also learn how international microfinance models have been applied to low-income and underbanked segments of the U.S. economy and what lessons can be learned from domestic institutions seeking to serve this market in a profitable way.

Microfinance & the Role of Financial Institutions in Development (FINC-937-A)

This course counts toward the following majors: Finance, International Business, Social Enterprise

This short course is designed to provide an introductory understanding of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their role in providing financial services to hundreds of millions of poor people. The course will examine the commercial, operational and developmental aspects of microfinance, including in-depth reviews of some of the largest, most successful MFIs in the world. In addition, students will learn about ways that other types of financial institutions, including traditional commercial banks, can contribute to the economic and social well-being of the communities they serve.

Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) (INTL-473-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: International Business

This course offers students an opportunity to learn about non-U.S. business environments within an innovative and flexible framework that combines traditional classroom-based learning with structured in-country field research. From its inception in 1989 as one class of 34 students covering the Soviet Union, the program has grown to become a cornerstone of the Kellogg experience for many students. The school currently sponsors 13 GIM courses composed of approximately 400 students traveling to 15 countries. Evanston full-time students gain admission to GIM classes through the bidding process in the fall quarter. Classroom instruction is held during the winter quarter, followed by two weeks of field research abroad and seminar presentations of written student reports during the spring quarter. (TMP and EMP GIM classes sometimes follow different schedules.) GIM courses are organized by student leaders under the guidance of a faculty adviser. If you would like to become a GIM student leader, please contact the IBMP office for more information.

Global Lab (G-Lab) (INTL-915-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: International Business.

This experiential learning course provides a hands-on opportunity for students to apply classroom knowledge to a real-world problem. In the Global Lab course, four or five students complete an international consulting project for a host company during the winter quarter that culminates in two weeks of on-site research and presentation to senior management. The host company and student team work together to determine the project's scope and parameters, and the team completes each week's research by meeting with an expert faculty adviser. The host company provides feedback that is used in grading students and covers travel expenses for the on-site visit. Students must have completed all core courses with the exception of OPNS-430 which can be taken concurrently in the Winter quarter. For practical purposes, this limits enrollment to students in their second year of the full-time program and those in the one-year program. Part-time program students who have fulfilled their core requirements are also eligible to take the course. Note: This course may not be dropped after the first week of the quarter.