While there has been some progress on other aspects of SME policy (especially credit provision), it is generally recognized that "linkage-inducing" policy, is for the most part and in most places, a new and experimental area, with considerable potential. The purpose of this document is to...

This paper discusses microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Caribbean. It argues that the reason they have lagged is fundamentally explained by factors internal to the MFIs, rather than external to them. The paper introduces four Caribbean MFIs, two with track records of low loan delinquency...

This paper marshals substantial arguments and data to support the contention that improving the access of micro and small enterprises to financial services could have an important salutary impact on a country's income distribution. To demonstrate this, the paper shows first that many poor own or...

The central objectives of this study were to establish the main experiences of microfinance institutions (MFIs), and their clients, in the Caribbean islands of Barbados and Dominica. Implicit in these objectives was an attempt to identify what procedures were working and which were not in order...

This paper is a checklist of all the factors a bank should consider when deciding the type of organizational structure it should use to do microlending. In addition, the paper discusses key best practices banks should follow in order to be successful in microlending in addition to picking the...

The purpose of this study is to show how microfinance services may undergo the impacts of climate change, to analyze the opportunities available for MFIs and to propose concrete actions. This paper was commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in coordination with the Sustainable...

The mission of Pro Mujer Perú is to support women through loans and training programs that will contribute to their comprehensive development. The majority of these women are self-employed peddlers whose business produces an income for their families. This presentation gives an overview of the...

This presentation features the case of the Société Générale Haitïenne de Solidarité (SOGESOL) which is a non-Bank Financial Institution whose Institutional mission is to promote Haitian micro-entrepreneurship, to adapt traditional banking services to the micro-entrepreneurs needs, to...

This paper presents the results of an investigation requested by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank under its Caribbean Microfinance Capacity Building project (CARIB-CAP) to strengthen microfinance in the English-speaking Caribbean. With the financial support...