• Empowerment of the poor is one ingredient in effective poverty reduction. • A demand-driven participatory approach enhances effectiveness and efficiency. • Accountability is the central lever for participatory governance. • Capacity building is necessary for making participatory...

• Renforcer le pouvoir des populations défavorisées est un élément déterminant pour lutter efficacement contre la pauvreté. • Une approche participative reposant sur la demande accroît l'efficience et l'efficacité. • L'obligation de rendre des comptes est le pivot de la gouvernance...

'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...