Working World Inc

Arriving in Argentina in the aftermath of an economic crisis that had unemployment as high as 25%, we noticed that the small and mid-sized business sector -- which creates up to 60% of jobs in developed economies -- was relatively absent. Large businesses do not have trouble getting financing even in poor countries, and now, thanks to microcredit, tiny enterprises are starting to get access to credit as well. It is precisely these in-between businesses that have the most trouble accessing the financing they need. This phenomenon has been dubbed the “missing middle.”

Combining our innovative approach to microcredit with our emphasis on workplace democracy, we were able to reach this “missing middle” in Argentina, creating jobs rooted in local communities and based on principles of equality and justice. After four years spent fine-tuning our model, we opened a second branch in Nicaragua to see if our acquired knowledge could be applied in a different context. Two years later, having shown that our model was indeed both durable and replicable, we have again expanded to a whole new, challenging context: New York City.