Building Financial Resilience: How Savings and Loan Associations are Changing Lives in Rural Malawi
Living in extreme poverty with limited access to financial services and basic amenities like electricity and plumbing, Chifundo's life changes when she participates in a meeting organized by the American organization Villages in Partnership (VIP).
Why Microenterprise Still Works for Poverty Reduction?
A series of impact studies showed that microfinance had mixed results. Charging affordable interest rates and offering training as well as loans simply wasn’t profitable – and profitable microfinance did not have the full effect of economic gains that was intended. A course correction was needed.
Can Microfinance Save Face as its Reputation Crumbles?
By Deanna Morris
Microlending programs have been around for 25+ years and as new players have entered the market creating even more competition, interest rates still remain high, which begs the question: is increased competition spurring greed and encouraging investment in microfinance for the wrong reasons?
Can There Be a Workable Microfinance?
“That’s not to say that microfinance won’t help the very poor, rather that there needs to be a recognition that microfinance isn’t the only thing that can work", argues Oxford Microfinance Initiative’s President Vicente Solera Deuchar.
