This work analyzes formal and informal markets for microfinance in rural Argentina. It provides a broad overview of rural financial markets in all their forms. It carefully describes the ways in which small, rural producers use financial services, be they saving services, loans or payment services. It then describes the current state of the supply of the rural microfinance, covering a variety of institutional forms such as public banks, private banks, cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, and input suppliers. After comparing demand with supply to determine mismatches, it suggests improvements in the micro and macro structure of the market that would likely improve long-term access to rural microfinance for small products.
The search for the best way to create opportunity and sustainable development in the less privileged parts of the world has brought about initiatives to overcome poverty and marginalization, and to build more inclusive social, economic and financial systems. Among a multitude of initiatives, microfinance, by now a familiar story, only recently came to the attention of the development field. The contemporary version of microfinance traces its origins to 1974, via the innovative initiative of Dr. Muhammad Yunus in starting the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, for which he went on to win the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2006. Yunus showed that microfinance held the promise of providing financial services for those otherwise considered unworthy and unprofitable by the traditional financial sector. The introduction of microfinance in Latin America, where poverty has reached preoccupying levels, has developed in varying stages among countries of the region. After briefly analyzing such differences, this thesis will present the Argentine microfinance experience as a case study. Argentina is brought into focus for two reasons: it is the country in the region where microcredit has least developed and the government has been especially restrictive in integrating microfinance into the overall financial system. The research for this thesis, based on two years of field work in the villas miserias of the Buenos Aires province in Argentina, aims finally to explore the role of microcredit in building more inclusive financial systems, in order to evaluate its impact on the goal to decrease marginalization and poverty.
The purpose of the 'Microfinance Handbook' is to bring together in a single source guiding principles and tools that will promote sustainable microfinance and create viable institutions.
In 2011 the World Bank—with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—launched the Global Findex database, the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Drawing on survey data collected in collaboration with Gallup, Inc., the Global Findex database covers more than 140 economies around the world. The initial survey round was followed by a second one in 2014 and by a third in 2017. Compiled using nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults age 15 and above in over 140 economies, The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. It has additional data on the use of financial technology (or fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions. The data reveal opportunities to expand access to financial services among people who do not have an account—the unbanked—as well as to promote greater use of digital financial services among those who do have an account. The Global Findex database has become a mainstay of global efforts to promote financial inclusion. In addition to being widely cited by scholars and development practitioners, Global Findex data are used to track progress toward the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The database, the full text of the report, and the underlying country-level data for all figures—along with the questionnaire, the survey methodology, and other relevant materials—are available at www.worldbank.org/globalfindex.
Since its emergence in the 1970s, microfinance has risen to become one of the most high-profile policies to address poverty in developing and transition countries. It is beloved of rock stars, movie stars, royalty, high-profile politicians and ‘troubleshooting’ economists. In this provocative and controversial analysis, Milford Bateman reveals that microfinance doesn’t actually work. In fact, the case for it has been largely built on hype, on egregious half-truths and – latterly – on the Wall Street-style greed of those promoting and working in microfinance. Using a multitude of case studies, from India to Cambodia, Bolivia to Uganda, Serbia to Mexico, Bateman demonstrates that microfi nance actually constitutes a major barrier to sustainable economic and social development, and thus also to sustainable poverty reduction. As developing and transition countries attempt to repair the devastation wrought by the global financial crisis, Why Doesn’t Microfinance Work? argues forcefully that the role of microfinance in development policy urgently needs to be reconsidered.
Although 'doing good' is our innate nature, we often get lost in the complexities and view goodness as a distant dream. Making this dream of goodness a reality is often thwarted by thoughts surrounding sustainability. Thus, all good initiatives require a focus on sustainability and this has become one of greatest and most formidable challenges faced by any social enterprise. The book documents the understanding of the sustainability of one of the most celebrated forms of social enterprise of our times — Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) gained through a mixed-methods research investigation. It attempts to answer pertinent questions such as: What are the determinant and discriminating factors for the sustainability of MFIs in India? How are these factors being managed by the operationally efficient Indian MFIs that remained sustainable at reasonable interest rates before the onset of the crisis and ceilings imposition in Indian microfinance markets? What does the Indian microfinance crisis teach us about sustainability management and mismanagement? In a nutshell, the answers show that sustainability is a strategic issue that needs managerial attention and not a matter to be left to serendipity. At a time when the industry is recovering from the adverse effects of a crisis and when there are still contentions as to whether the rate fixed by the regulator is enough for the sustenance of the MFIs, the findings mentioned in the book revive the lost hope for the Indian microfinance industry. By deciphering the strategies used by efficient and sustainable MFIs and discussing the lessons that the crisis has imparted to the Indian microfinance markets, this book will enable Indian MFIs to march towards efficient and sustainable operations without losing focus on their clients.
In response to a clear need by low-income people to gain access to the full range of financial services including savings, a growing number of microfinance NGOs are seeking guidelines to transform from credit-focused microfinance organizations to regulated deposit-taking financial intermediaries. In response to this trend, this book presents a practical 'how-to' manual for MFIs to develop the capacity to become licensed and regulated to mobilize deposits from the public. 'Transforming Microfinance Institutions' provides guidelines for regulators to license and regulate microfinance providers, and for transforming MFIs to meet the demands of two major new stakeholders regulators and shareholders. As such, it focuses on developing the capacity of NGO MFIs to mobilize and intermediate voluntary savings. Drawing from worldwide experience, it outlines how to manage the transformation process and address major strategic and operational issues inherent in transformation including competitive positioning, business planning, accessing capital and shareholders, and how to 'transform' the MFI's human resources, financial management, MIS, internal controls, and branch operations. Case studies then provide examples of developing a new regulatory tier for microfinance, and how a Ugandan NGO transformed to become a licensed financial intermediary. This book will be invaluable to regulators and microfinance NGOs contemplating institutional transformation and will be of tremendous use to donors and technical support agencies supporting MFIs in their transformation.
In two volumes these books review and expand the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs. Volume 1 provides detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in this field. Volume 2 presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries. The work assesses the success of this policy and provides some startling conclusions. This is essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance.
An estimation of about 40 millions in India and around 1.5 billion population worldwide live in absolute poverty. They are unable to meet their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. According to census 2011, more than 65%%%% of India's population living in rural areas and directly or indirectly depends upon agriculture to earn their livelihood, meaning thereby poverty and unemployment are the offshoots of their dependence on agriculture (Khan, 2014). Since 1947, the absolute number of poor has doubled despite the significant growth in agriculture production and employment over the past six decades of development planning.
