infrastructure and pro-urban banking systems. This may be overcome where microfinance systems are introduced. A system of … microfinance usually signifies a financial arrangement designed to help the rural poor transform their economic condition. However … communities to find their own solutions to their developmental needs. In order to assess the provision of microfinance systems in …

Rural dwellers may not patronise formal microfinance institutions (MFIs) as much as they participate in informal … microfinance because MFIs may not find the patronage of the rural people profitable enough for their business (World Bank, 2000 … areas. Microfinance programs that lay emphasis only on lending will likely be unable to benefit the teeming poor who may …

Lending to rural borrowers is a key element of pursuing the poverty alleviation mission of microfinance. However, a … strong focus on rural areas is said to hamper the sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs). We analyze this … potential trade-off based on data covering 802 microfinance institutions over the period 2008-2013. We find that increasing the …