The paper is a follow-up to an article published in Technique Financière etDeveloppement in 2000 (see the appendix to the hardcopy version), which portrayedthe first results of a new strategy in the field of development finance implemented inSouth-East Europe. This strategy consists in creating...

Throughout the developing world, there is a desperate quest for a way out ofthe financial predicament confronting the rural poor. In most countries of thedeveloping regions, especially South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the ruralpopulation forms the larger proportion of the entire population and...

This paper explores the potential of microfinance in post-conflict economies, and speci-fically examines policy considerations for the case of Iraq. It presents important condi-tions of the post-conflict economy, and examines three critical requirements for suc-cessful microfinance operations,...

This paper discusses the so-called commercial approach to microfinance undereconomic and ethical aspects. It first shows how microfinance has developed from a purelywelfare-oriented activity to a commercially relevant line of banking business. Thebackground of this stunning success is the almost...

This paper examines whether recently introduced “village funds”, one of the largestmicrofinance programs ever implemented, improve access to finance. Village funds areanalyzed in a cross-sectional approach in relation to competing financial institutions. We find,first, that they reach the...

Since the beginning of the nineties microfinance institutions were set up in Madagascar. The research project carried out on the east coast of the island was investigating the Caisse Féminine, that is women´s savings and credit co-operative, which is accompanied by the program "Credit with...

In this paper we investigate the status quo of regulation for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) inGermany. A short presentation of the legal framework is followed by a detailed account of thepractical implications for the lending design that MFIs face. Five different models of loan extensionare...

In this paper we empirically examine the impact of competition between Microfinance Institutions(MFIs) on the efficacy of loan contracts when the MFIs make use of joint liability loan contracts. Morespecifically, we aim to find out whether competition will reduce the power of the self-selection...

We assess the experiences of Eastern European Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in order to deriverecommendations for their Western European counterparts. In particular, six dimensions arediscussed: (1) building a supportive stakeholder environment, (2) defining a marketing strategy, (3)using...

In der zweiten Förderphase der EU-Gemeinschaftsinitiativen (1995 - 1997) hatten bereits einige Trägerorganisationen von NOW-Projekten den Aspekt der Existenzgründungförderung als einen Weg aus der Arbeitslosigkeit in ihre Qualifizierungs- und Beratungsarbeit mit aufgenommen.