Microfinance as the best way of tackling poverty is under attack. It has been accused of failing to help the poor, of treating its clients badly, of charging high interest rates and of encouraging poor people to take on excessive debt burdens. The authors examine these issues, and find that...

This paper investigates a relationship between economic governance and the dual objectives of microfinance institutions (MFIs): poverty reduction and financial viability. Using an unbalanced panel of 531 MFIs, the important role of other institutions, such as country-level business registry...

A key objective of microfinance programmes is to provide financial services to poor people who are excluded from such services by the formal banking system. It is in this perspective that governments, development partners and donor agencies continue to provide support to such institutions, to...

The paper evaluates the extent to which Sinapi Aba Trust has contributed to poverty reduction among rural and urban poor especially women by supporting them with small loans to expand their businesses to generate income to build up their asset base. Using a cross-sectional data from 547...

This paper aims to understand the role of micro-insurance as an element of social protection. It outlines the current status of micro-insurance provision in Ghana and Sri Lanka, two countries with very different socio-cultural backgrounds. It concludes that both countries are unlikely to extend...

This paper identifies key processes shaping the microfinance sector in the coming decades. The paper examines the geography of microfinance, highlighting differing evolution patterns and challenges across the world. It looks at the widespread adoption of a financial systems approach in the...

This paper is motivated by the observation that type and combination of assets play a significant role in reducing incidences of shocks by asset-poor households. Asset-based strategies treat assets not just as resources, but also as an agency to transform such resources to improve livelihood...