A Fistful of Rice: My Unexpected Quest to End Poverty Through Profitability

What Paul Farmer is to infectious disease, Vikram Akula is to poverty, and his quest has been as harrowing and heart-breaking as Farmer's. Scene by scene, Akula reveals how he pieced together the best of philanthropy and--to his own surprise--the best of capitalism to serve millions of India's poor. Akula's transformation from activist to entrepreneur to corporate executive parallels that of each SKS Microfinance "member" from pauper to customer to business woman. In creating a high-performance enterprise of true professionals, Vikram has done what other microfinancing models have failed to do, which is to achieve the scale, the scope, and the profitability necessary to sustain its efforts without ongoing fundraising. It is a remarkable entrepreneurial journey, populated by a colorful cast of characters including India's political star, Rahul Gandhi.