Editorial: Expanding the debate on financial services

Jason Donovan

This volume of Enterprise Development and Microfinance (EDM) addresses from different angles and in different ways the capacities and needs of financial service providers to effectively reach to the poor. Some articles explore options for increased operational efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs), while others focus on the capacity of service providers to expand beyond microfinance. Some take a more global view, while others focus on experiences in specific countries, namely China, India, Togo and Brazil. Taken together, the articles provide fresh fodder for debates on how financial service providers can achieve sustainability and better support the poor’s capacity to deal with risk and uncertainly. The articles also provide important insights into how government and donors can better support service providers—or at the very least reduce the barriers that limit the impact and reach of service provision. Hopefully the rich debate here and elsewhere in EDM on financial services will inspire deeper reflection on how to increase the coverage and effectiveness of non-financial services, such as rural advisory services and business development services.