'Development is too important simply to be left entirely at the discretion of the state's functionaries'. Mark Turner and David Hulme (1997) Governance, Administration and Development, London: MacMillan Press, p. 241. <P>Conventional poverty reduction strategies have produced disappointing results...</p>

The progression of microfinance NGOs from small, money-losing operations to large providers of banking services to the poor involves many risks. Unless these risks are managed successfully, the conflict between the objectives of outreach and sustainability becomes destructive to both. Several...

Progression from product-centred to client-centered lending is made possible by innovation, which is by definition cost-reducing. Innovation in finance occurs in three ways: lengthening term structure, reducing transaction costs, and refining valuation processes. Each of these involves risk. The...