The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh is widely considered as one of the world's most sucessful financial institutions banking with the poor. In an effort to alleviate poverty, donors have supported replication programs in 26 countries. This analysis is based on some case studies from Indonesia, the...

We in the community of microfinance specialists want to help alleviate poverty. We think microfinance is a useful tool. Yet, by bringing these two concerns together, we might be mixing up two diverging ends: one is poverty reduction; the other one the development of a healthy microfinance...

Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world; and women in that country are among the poorest of the poor. In the late 1970s, a man performed a miracle there. With a few loans out of his own pocket in 1976, Professor Yunus proved to himself that even the most downtrodden are able to...

How to develop in third world countries a sector of viable financial institutions with sustainable financial services for the whole populace including the poor? During the 90s an answer to that question is being sought in the field of microfinance, which comprises formal and nonformal financial...

Indonesia is a country with a deregulated policy environment in which microfinance institutions (MFIs) abound. Between 1970 and 1993 poverty has been drastically reduced from 60% to 14%. Three factors have been instrumental: explicit government policies, sustained economic growth and, since...