There has long been a debate on whether the Turks and Caicos and other micro-states in the region are viable as self-governing entities.

ECONOMIST: The Turks and Caicos loses independence

The chance of a peaceful settlement in either Rwanda or Burundi, the two micro-states at the heart of the region, is small.

ECONOMIST: The Hutu-Tutsi divide

Warren Buffett and Bill Gates should use more of their money to set up region-specific venture capital funds and micro-lending organizations with main goals not to get killer returns but to give entrepreneurs the ability to try out their ideas.

FORBES

While countries such as Bangladesh started micro-credit programmes in the 1970s, low population densities in many areas of rural Latin America have meant that micro-credit schemes have been seen as economically unviable in the region.

BBC: Low interest loans for Latin Americans

Scattered elsewhere around the country are even smaller micro breweries such as Asif in Ramot Haftali and Malka in Kibbutz Yechiam, both in the Galilee region, Lone Tree in the Judean Mountains and Negev in Kiryat Gat in the southern desert.

BBC: The Holy Land of beer