The Blue Sweater: Your Sweater, My Sweater

Can you imagine a world where financially challenged aspiring entrepreneurs are not lectured about what they need to do to start a business but instead are given the tools needed to be successful? Well, this is the journey that the author of, The Blue Sweater; Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World takes.

Everyone talks about the gap between the rich and poor. Not too often do people address the one vital tool that could get people to economic independence--business ownership. And when they do address it, they give advice and educational tools that do not measure success or create accountability.

The book The Blue Sweater, written by international banker-turned-philanthropic venture capitalist Jacqueline Novogratz, is a non-fiction page turner that talks about the author's exciting and adventurous business journey in some parts of Africa.

The name "blue sweater" stems from the story of a sweater given to the author by her uncle. A few years later after having donated the sweater, she comes across a little boy in Africa with the exact sweater she donated to an organization in America. Hence, the story of the interconnectedness of our worlds unwinds.

The book unveils the life and career experiences of Jacqueline Novogratz and her journey to help ease global poverty. As a young banker and novice careerist, Jacqueline had been assigned to a group of international bankers whose responsibilities were to review the bank loans of troubled economies and in doing so, they were to travel to 40 countries in 3 years. After three years of working for the bank, Novogratz knew that she wanted to "change the world" and take her "newly learned skills and use them to help people" who did not have great opportunities.

So when the chance came to work for a nonprofit women's microfinance organization as an ambassador, she jumped at the chance. Her first assignment--Africa. Along with this assignment came challenges and rewards. After working as an American business ambassador in countries like the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire), Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya, Novogratz began to realize some inadequacies in the mico-lending industry.

Novogratz realized that nonprofit organizations lacked accountability and that donors did not have to be subjected to only a "few good stories." She noticed that agencies had to understand how some African countries, their economy, culture and their governments worked if they wanted to be successful in their lending efforts.

Throughout the book, the author's experiences helps her realize some crucial keys to successes when dealing with the poor. Her journey to determine whether a credit system for women in Africa was feasible, led her to acknowledge that less fortunate women needed a credit system for two reasons: "...they didn't have collateral and they had extremely low income levels..." Novagratz also sought to understand "...what it would take to build a business that actually created jobs for poor people."

A smooth narrative of her travels, adventures, dealings with African business women, and traumatic experiences, this book is a simple cry to the business world to to help micropreneurs and struggling entrepreneurs. It is an educational tool to aid microfinance organizations and a call for "more fortunate" entrepreneurs to help "less fortunate" startup entrepreneurs.

One of the highlights of the book comes from Novogratz's Kenyan companion, Mary Koinange when she calls for agencies to "...start by looking at how smart people already are instead of giving them things that will make them fail."

This is exactly what Ms. Novogratz ends up doing with her nonprofit venture capitalist firm for the poor--Acumen Fund. Acumen focuses on alleviating global poverty through entrepreneurial assistance. She knew from the start that she would invest in "entrepreneurs who have vision and the ability to solve local problems with market-driven ideas and approaches." Instead of concentrating on return on investment (ROI) her company was founded to invest in social entrepreneurs who were unafraid to work in markets with low-income individuals. The book outlines her startup venture and experience.

An excellent narrative and auto-biography that details one woman's journey to make a difference, The Blue Sweater is a must-read admonition for readers to step outside-the-box and help promote economic independence through business.

For me, this book answered some burning questions I had about my business' path and inspired me to take some chances to help others succeed. As a native of Liberia, West Africa, I have seen up close the resilience and strength of the poor and the positive influence that international assistance can have in transferring this mental strength to business ownership.

I too, have had to overcome serious challenges to achieve business ownership and this book has taught me that there are people out there who care "just because." I have no doubt that you will find this book to be an inspiration just as I did. Do you care? If so, buy the book. Visit http://www.thebluesweater.com/



About the Author: Cheryl Isaac is the writer of this blog and the Startup Business Consultant & Owner of Isaac Business Services; an agency that offers startup concierge & business planning services for small businesses.