This article provides some practical insights into the way in which a microfinance institution (MFI) can structure its support so as to maximise its chances of helping the poorest raise their living standards. The debates concerning the ability of microfinance to empower women and alleviate...

Analysis of the poverty impacts of microfinance is almost exclusively focused on the direct impacts on microfinance clients. The Imp-Act programme emphasizes the need to also consider the 'wider impacts' achieved through non-client beneficiaries of microfinance. To fully understand and achieve...