outreach? Can financially sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs) reach the poorest of the poor? Do MFIs only reach petty traders? Do MFIs reach poor and remote areas? This article is structured around
a discussion of common beliefs and assumptions regarding poor people and microfinance programmes. It reveals that many microentrepreneurs in Latin America are not poor, and many microfinance institutions
lend mainly to non-poor clients. The microfinance industry consists of various market niches, with different services and varied objectives, and this diversity is necessary for achieving poverty reduction
overall.