The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh is known worldwide for its success in providing credit to the poor. However, subsequent replications of its methodology in other parts of the world have been less successful. Is there really an infallible solution that works everywhere, and is outreach to the poor...

Informal financial institutions (IFIs), among them the ubiquitous rotating savings and credit associations, are of ancient origin. Owned and self-managed by local people, poor and non-poor, they are self-help organizations which mobilize their own resources, cover their costs and finance their...

Mali, with a population of 11.7m, 70 percent rural, is located in the Sahel zone of West Africa. With a per capita income of US$245 and a Human Development Index rank of 174, it is among the poorest countries in the world, highly vulnerable to external impacts.