Here’s your Daily Brief for December 7th:

The Next Generation of Microfinance: Microfranchising (via Allyu and BeyondProfit) – One of the challenges for microfinance institutions is covering their overhead expenses. I’ve written about my friend Ben Lyon’s approach to integrating mobile platforms that deliver microfinance services at much lower cost (See FrontlineSMS: Credit). Melissa Richer, Founder of Allyu, has created a strategy of “microfranchising” that could offer additional means for adding value to MFI’s distribution networks while deploying more wealth creating opportunites to the world’s “bottom billion”.

Can Obama Deliver American Investment in Africa? (via Africa Business Source) – As many of us await concrete steps by Obama Administration on its foreign policy strategy toward Africa, this article lays out the foundation on which the Administration will be expected to build as well as the forces it will be working with. One of the best overviews I’ve seen in quite a while!

Is Social Enterprise Ethical? Or Even Legal?  (via SocialEarth) - Several posts on this blog have been centered on the legal and moral foundations on which social enterprises find themselves. In particular, does the corporate framework in America support social entrepreneurship? Mike Shoemaker addresses these concerns in this very well laid out post.