Microfinancing designed to help poor households meet basic needs or assist entrepreneurs starting or expanding a business will have a profound impact. The funding will improve not only the quality of life for borrowers in emerging markets, but will also help build a workforce for manufacturers establishing operations in these regions. Citizens with new employment opportunities offered by international investors will also be better able to afford those enticing products seen in television and movies or the Internet. As I wrote a few months ago, women in the developing world are benefiting.
New technologies and resources, especially connections made possible through the Internet, have changed the way we do business, allowing us to both supply and receive products from across the world. Even the smallest companies that had never thought in terms of global marketing have been able to actively expand to international markets because of buyers who have discovered their products or services online and purchased them. These buyers, while similar to domestic customers, might never have been targeted by the companies for global outreach.
The number of markets in a position to buy our products and services is increasing, as well. As more traditionally poor regions enjoy access to improved communications technology – television sets, satellite networks, and Internet access, for example – more people become aware of products available elsewhere, creating demand for them in unexpected places.
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