Microfinance

Synopsis:

Microfinance is the provision of financial services to poor households that do not have access to formal financial institutions. The range of services includes loans, savings facilities, insurance, transfer payments and micro-pensions. Evidence from the millions of microfinance clients around the world demonstrates that access to financial services enables poor people to increase their household incomes, build assets and reduce vulnerability to the everyday crises that they face. For this reason, microfinance has come into the spotlight as a key tool to combat poverty and improve the lives of the poor. This technical note aims to describe the microfinance sector, the different types of methodologies and microfinance institutions that currently exist and the trends that are affecting the industry.

Title: Microfinance

Author(s): Blahnik, H. and Mair, J.

Reference No: DGN-647-E

No. of pages:

Year of publication: 2005

Keywords: Credit; Microeconomics; Financial Instruments; Welfare Economics; Social Entrepreneurship

Complementary materials:

This technical note is available from IESE Business School:

http://www.iesep.com/(S(ozcked45izcpjjismkueez55))/fichaProducto.aspx?sigla=DGN-647-E