Idea 378 of 500. Cluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
A bank branch or credit union owned by Sri Lankans abroad that lends to the appendix
The mechanism, from the book
1.5 million people abroad who know how rich countries work, and who send home money and little else.
Every idea in cluster 18 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Gather 20 members of one Sri Lankan association abroad who would each deposit a fixed sum and lend it at a stated rate to businesses from this appendix, then ask a lawyer what structure their country allows for a small lending circle. Take the pledges and the legal answer to one business owner at home with a costed plan. Pledges plus a willing borrower is the proof.
- Who pays first
- A small business at home with a costed plan and no collateral, backed by people abroad who know the family and the place.
- What leaves today
- Savings held by Sri Lankans abroad earn little abroad while businesses at home cannot borrow; a lending circle moves that capital to where it builds something.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. EightWhat It Costs to Go First
What bonds sold to Sri Lankans abroad have and have not done - Ch. SixteenThe Bridge
The institutions that could carry value back
More from cluster 18
- 361A directory of Sri Lankans abroad: who does what, where, and what they will help with, verified
- 362Return-relocation services: the school, the house, the car, the tax, in one package
- 363Sri Lanka House in London, Melbourne and Toronto: a shop, a café and a desk, the Colombo model abroad
- 364Money-transfer products that buy a specific thing at home, a course, a machine, a roof, rather than cash
- 365Investment clubs of Sri Lankans abroad that own one business each at home, with a manager on the ground
- 366Import agencies in each city with a Sri Lankan community, stocking Sri Lankan brands and nothing else
Idea 378 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.