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'Are you poor enough?' - client selection by microfinance institutions
The debate between the proponents of maximizing sustainability, outreach and scale and thus serving many poor people (including poorer people) and the proponents of targeting 'the poorest of the poor' (discussedby Dunford in SED Vol. 11 No. 1) continues. The debate is essentially a healthy one, helping everyone involved in the industry focus on what matters: providing financial services to poor people. This article
argues that MFI programmes should include the 'nonpoor' on the grounds that this more profitable business can crosssubsidize outreach to the poor, and because, without access to any financial services,
vulnerable non-poor people are likely to be reduced to poverty when a crisis arises. Regarding 'the poor', MFIs wishing to service this group should offer savings and other innovative products, since poor
people have few opportunities to utilize Grameen-type credit efficiently. Finally, the very poor or destitute may require relief services before they can use most financial products. The challenge overall
is to design appropriate products, and efficient systems - and in this way both MFIs and their clients will benefit.
The debate between the proponents of maximizing sustainability, outreach and scale and thus serving many poor people (including poorer people) and the proponents of targeting 'the poorest of the poor' (discussed
by Dunford in SED Vol. 11 No. 1) continues. The debate is essentially a healthy one, helping everyone involved in the industry focus on what matters: providing financial services to poor people. This article
argues that MFI programmes should include the 'nonpoor' on the grounds that this more profitable business can crosssubsidize outreach to the poor, and because, without access to any financial services,
vulnerable non-poor people are likely to be reduced to poverty when a crisis arises. Regarding 'the poor', MFIs wishing to service this group should offer savings and other innovative products, since poor
people have few opportunities to utilize Grameen-type credit efficiently. Finally, the very poor or destitute may require relief services before they can use most financial products. The challenge overall
is to design appropriate products, and efficient systems - and in this way both MFIs and their clients will benefit.
by Dunford in SED Vol. 11 No. 1) continues. The debate is essentially a healthy one, helping everyone involved in the industry focus on what matters: providing financial services to poor people. This article
argues that MFI programmes should include the 'nonpoor' on the grounds that this more profitable business can crosssubsidize outreach to the poor, and because, without access to any financial services,
vulnerable non-poor people are likely to be reduced to poverty when a crisis arises. Regarding 'the poor', MFIs wishing to service this group should offer savings and other innovative products, since poor
people have few opportunities to utilize Grameen-type credit efficiently. Finally, the very poor or destitute may require relief services before they can use most financial products. The challenge overall
is to design appropriate products, and efficient systems - and in this way both MFIs and their clients will benefit.
Do Microfinance Programmes Really Serve the Poor? Evidence from Rural Southeast Nepal
Dulal, Hari Bansha
Gingrich, Chris D
Stough, Roger R
Journal of South Asian Development, Vol. 3 (2008), Iss. 2 P.253
https://doi.org/10.1177/097317410800300204 [Citations: 2]Recovering of micro credit in Nigeria
Okpara, John O.
Nkamnebe, Anayo D.
Idemobi, Ellis I.
Management Research Review, Vol. 34 (2011), Iss. 2 P.236
https://doi.org/10.1108/01409171111102830 [Citations: 11]Jenseits Von Staat Und Markt: Mikroversicherungen Als Neues Konzept Sozialer Sicherung in Entwicklungsländern (Beyond the State and the Market: Micro-Insurance as a New Social Protection Strategy in Developing Countries)
Loewe, Markus
(2010)
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2221663 [Citations: 0]Tabs navigation
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