Recently, many researchers have highlighted the imbalance between the financial and social missions of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which is considered to be the main objective of the research. Hence, the objectives of the current study were to identify the roots of mission drift and the reasons for high interest rates. In addition, the article was focused on the examination of the most efficient products of the sector. The research paper is conceptualized and based on primary data collection through field work, which has been analyzed using SPSS software. Secondary data has been collected mainly from peer-reviewed articles. As an improvement strategy, representatives of the sector should plan strategic campaigns to solve the situation. According to the results, though the strict regulations of the sector lead to stability in the market, changes regarding micro-savings or microinsurance regulation should be developed for future enhancement of MFIs in Armenia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.

Ahmed, S., Hoque, M.E., Sarker, A.R., Sultana, M., Islam, Z., Gazi, R. and Khan, J.A. (2016), Willingness-to-pay for community-based health insurance among informal Workers in Urban Bangladesh’, PloS one 11(2): 482–498 <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148211>.

Atmadja, A.S., Sharma, P. and Su, J.J. (2018) ‘Microfinance and microenterprise performance in Indonesia: an extended and updated survey’, International Journal of Social Economics 45(6): 957–72 <https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-02-2017-0031>.

Banerjee, S.B. and Jackson, L. (2017) ‘Microfinance and the business of poverty reduction: critical perspectives from rural Bangladesh’, Human Relations 70(1): 63–91 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726716640865>.

Caserta, M., Monteleone, S. and Reito, F. (2018) ‘The trade-off between profitability and outreach in microfinance’, Economic Modelling 72: 31–41 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.01.003>.

Christen, R. and Drake, D. (2002) ‘Commercialization: the new reality of microfinance’, in D. Drake and E. Rhyne (eds), The Commercialization of Microfinance: Balancing Business and Development, pp. 2–22, Kumarian Press, Bloomfield, CT.

Cozarenco, A., Hudon, M. and Szafarz, A. (2016) ‘What type of microfinance institutions supply savings products?’ Economics Letters 140: 57–59 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2016.01.013>.

Garrity, P. and Martin, C. (2018) ‘Developing a microfinance model to break the cycle of poverty’, Business Horizons 61(6): 937–47 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2018.07.002>.

Guetterman, T.C., Fetters, M.D. and Creswell, J.W. (2015) ‘Integrating quantitative and qualitative results in health science mixed methods research through joint displays’, The Annals of Family Medicine 13(6): 554–61 <https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1865>.

Hishigsuren, G. (2007) ‘Evaluating mission drift in microfinance: lessons for programs with SM’, Evaluation Review 31(3): 203–20 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X06297886>.

Hopkins, W.G. (2015) ‘Spreadsheets for analysis of validity and reliability’, Sportscience 21: 10–13 <https://web.s.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=11749210&AN=124138143&h=B39UQY68DUoNvRvIt7tAAssjUqKAVHNTetEEqp4RCuDd%2bakuTRuJpto7uaBW71ZSyE3PbM3r1RGZWPBgoRwSew%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d11749210%26AN%3d124138143>.

Ibrahim, Y., Ahmed, I. and Minai, M.S. (2018) ‘The influence of institutional characteristics on financial performance of microfinance institutions in the OIC countries’, Journal of International Development 9(2): 213–36 <https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2018/11-2/2>.

Inderst, G. (2016) ‘Infrastructure investment, private finance, and institutional investors: Asia from a global perspective’, The Economic Journal 17(5): 10–33 <http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2721577>.

Janzen, S.A. and Carter, M.R. (2018) ‘After the drought: the impact of microinsurance on consumption smoothing and asset protection’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 101(3): 651–71 <https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aay061>.

Jensen, N. and Barrett, C. (2017) Agricultural index insurance for development’, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 39(2): 99–219 <https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppw022>.

Kar, A.K. (2013) ‘Mission drift in microfinance: are the concerns worrying? Recent cross-country results’, International Review of Applied Economics 27(1): 44–60 <https://doi.org/10.1080/02692171.2012.700701>.

Kar, S. and Deb, J. (2017) ‘Efficiency determinants of microfinance institutions in India: two stage DEA analysis’, The Central European Review of Economics and Management 1(4): 87–116. <https:// doi:10.29015/cerem.528>.

Khalaf, L. and Saqfalhait, N.I. (2019). Social outreach of microfinance institutions in Arab countries.

Khan, W. and Shaorong, S. (2016) ‘Microfinance mission of poverty alleviation: empirical evidence from South Asia’, Sarhad Journal of Management Sciences 2(01): 1–8.

Kono, H. and Takahashi, K. (2010) ‘Microfinance revolution: its effects, innovations, and challenges’, The Developing Economies 48(1): 15–73 <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1049.2010.00098.x>.

Maîtrot, M. (2019). ‘Understanding social performance: a “practice drift” at the frontline of microfinance institutions in Bangladesh’, Development and Change 50(3): 623–654 <https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12398>.

Marrett, R., Gale, J.F., Gómez, L.A. and Laubach, S.E. (2018) ‘Correlation analysis of fracture arrangement in space’, Journal of Structural Geology 108: 16–33 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2017.06.012>.

McCusker, K. and Gunaydin, S. (2015). ‘Research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods and choice based on the research’, Perfusion 30(7): 537–542 <https://doi.org/10.1002/reg2.32>.

Meyer, J. (2019) ‘Outreach and performance of microfinance institutions: the importance of portfolio yield’, Applied Economics 51(27): 2945–2962 <https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2018.1564016>.

Mukhtar, S. (2016) ‘An empirical investigation into the prospects of micro-insurance in some selected rural areas of Sokoto State, Nigeria’, International Journal of Business and Social Science 7(12): 37–44.

Nasrin, S., Baskaran, A. and Rasiah, R. (2017) ‘Microfinance and savings among the poor: evidence from Bangladesh microfinance sector’, Quality & Quantity 51(4): 1435–1448. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0342-1>.

Ngo, T.V. (2015). ‘Microfinance complementarity and trade-off between financial performance and social impact’, International Journal of Economics and Finance 7(11): 128 <https://doi.org/10.1080/23337486.2015.1050270>.

Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood, K. (2015) ‘Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research’, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 42(5): 533–544 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y>.

Pedrini, M., Bramanti, V., Minciullo, M. and Ferri, L.M. (2016) ‘Rethinking microfinance for developed countries’, Journal of International Development 28(2): 281–302 <https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3205>.

Platteau, J.P., De Bock, O. and Gelade, W. (2017) ‘The demand for microinsurance: a literature review’, World Development 94: 139–156 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.01.010>.

Ramezanali, M. and Assadi, D. (2018) ‘Does microfinance reduce poverty? The case of Brazil’, International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance 9(2): 29–45 <https://doi.org/10.18178/ijtef.2018.9.2.589>.

Sultana, H.Y., Jamal, M.A. and Najaf, D.E. (2017) ‘Impact of microfinance on women empowerment through poverty alleviation: an assessment of socio-economic conditions in Chennai City of Tamil Nadu’, Asian Journal for Poverty Studies (AJPS) 3(2): 28–40.

Taber, K.S. (2018) ‘The use of Cronbach’s alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education’, Research in Science Education 48(6): 1273–1296 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2>.

Utkin, V.S. and Yurieva, A.A. (2018) ‘Analysis of the Russian microfinance markets main problems’, Finansovyj žhurnal—Financial Journal 5: 97–107 <https://doi.org/10.31107/2075-1990-2018-5-97-107>.

Weaver, B. and Maxwell, H. (2014) ‘Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis with missing data: a simple method for SPSS users’, The Quantitative Methods for Psychology 10(2): 143–152 <https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.10.2.p143>.

Wellalage, N.H. and Fernandez, V. (2019) ‘Innovation and SME finance: evidence from developing countries’, International Review of Financial Analysis 60: 58–70 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2019.06.009>.

Ahmed, S., Hoque, M.E., Sarker, A.R., Sultana, M., Islam, Z., Gazi, R. and Khan, J.A. (2016), Willingness-to-pay for community-based health insurance among informal Workers in Urban Bangladesh’, PloS one 11(2): 482–498 <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148211>.

Atmadja, A.S., Sharma, P. and Su, J.J. (2018) ‘Microfinance and microenterprise performance in Indonesia: an extended and updated survey’, International Journal of Social Economics 45(6): 957–72 <https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-02-2017-0031>.

Banerjee, S.B. and Jackson, L. (2017) ‘Microfinance and the business of poverty reduction: critical perspectives from rural Bangladesh’, Human Relations 70(1): 63–91 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726716640865>.

Caserta, M., Monteleone, S. and Reito, F. (2018) ‘The trade-off between profitability and outreach in microfinance’, Economic Modelling 72: 31–41 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.01.003>.

Christen, R. and Drake, D. (2002) ‘Commercialization: the new reality of microfinance’, in D. Drake and E. Rhyne (eds), The Commercialization of Microfinance: Balancing Business and Development, pp. 2–22, Kumarian Press, Bloomfield, CT.

Cozarenco, A., Hudon, M. and Szafarz, A. (2016) ‘What type of microfinance institutions supply savings products?’ Economics Letters 140: 57–59 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2016.01.013>.

Garrity, P. and Martin, C. (2018) ‘Developing a microfinance model to break the cycle of poverty’, Business Horizons 61(6): 937–47 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2018.07.002>.

Guetterman, T.C., Fetters, M.D. and Creswell, J.W. (2015) ‘Integrating quantitative and qualitative results in health science mixed methods research through joint displays’, The Annals of Family Medicine 13(6): 554–61 <https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1865>.

Hishigsuren, G. (2007) ‘Evaluating mission drift in microfinance: lessons for programs with SM’, Evaluation Review 31(3): 203–20 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X06297886>.

Hopkins, W.G. (2015) ‘Spreadsheets for analysis of validity and reliability’, Sportscience 21: 10–13 <https://web.s.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=11749210&AN=124138143&h=B39UQY68DUoNvRvIt7tAAssjUqKAVHNTetEEqp4RCuDd%2bakuTRuJpto7uaBW71ZSyE3PbM3r1RGZWPBgoRwSew%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d11749210%26AN%3d124138143>.

Ibrahim, Y., Ahmed, I. and Minai, M.S. (2018) ‘The influence of institutional characteristics on financial performance of microfinance institutions in the OIC countries’, Journal of International Development 9(2): 213–36 <https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2018/11-2/2>.

Inderst, G. (2016) ‘Infrastructure investment, private finance, and institutional investors: Asia from a global perspective’, The Economic Journal 17(5): 10–33 <http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2721577>.

Janzen, S.A. and Carter, M.R. (2018) ‘After the drought: the impact of microinsurance on consumption smoothing and asset protection’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 101(3): 651–71 <https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aay061>.

Jensen, N. and Barrett, C. (2017) Agricultural index insurance for development’, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 39(2): 99–219 <https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppw022>.

Kar, A.K. (2013) ‘Mission drift in microfinance: are the concerns worrying? Recent cross-country results’, International Review of Applied Economics 27(1): 44–60 <https://doi.org/10.1080/02692171.2012.700701>.

Kar, S. and Deb, J. (2017) ‘Efficiency determinants of microfinance institutions in India: two stage DEA analysis’, The Central European Review of Economics and Management 1(4): 87–116. <https:// doi:10.29015/cerem.528>.

Khalaf, L. and Saqfalhait, N.I. (2019). Social outreach of microfinance institutions in Arab countries.

Khan, W. and Shaorong, S. (2016) ‘Microfinance mission of poverty alleviation: empirical evidence from South Asia’, Sarhad Journal of Management Sciences 2(01): 1–8.

Kono, H. and Takahashi, K. (2010) ‘Microfinance revolution: its effects, innovations, and challenges’, The Developing Economies 48(1): 15–73 <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1049.2010.00098.x>.

Maîtrot, M. (2019). ‘Understanding social performance: a “practice drift” at the frontline of microfinance institutions in Bangladesh’, Development and Change 50(3): 623–654 <https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12398>.

Marrett, R., Gale, J.F., Gómez, L.A. and Laubach, S.E. (2018) ‘Correlation analysis of fracture arrangement in space’, Journal of Structural Geology 108: 16–33 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2017.06.012>.

McCusker, K. and Gunaydin, S. (2015). ‘Research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods and choice based on the research’, Perfusion 30(7): 537–542 <https://doi.org/10.1002/reg2.32>.

Meyer, J. (2019) ‘Outreach and performance of microfinance institutions: the importance of portfolio yield’, Applied Economics 51(27): 2945–2962 <https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2018.1564016>.

Mukhtar, S. (2016) ‘An empirical investigation into the prospects of micro-insurance in some selected rural areas of Sokoto State, Nigeria’, International Journal of Business and Social Science 7(12): 37–44.

Nasrin, S., Baskaran, A. and Rasiah, R. (2017) ‘Microfinance and savings among the poor: evidence from Bangladesh microfinance sector’, Quality & Quantity 51(4): 1435–1448. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0342-1>.

Ngo, T.V. (2015). ‘Microfinance complementarity and trade-off between financial performance and social impact’, International Journal of Economics and Finance 7(11): 128 <https://doi.org/10.1080/23337486.2015.1050270>.

Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood, K. (2015) ‘Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research’, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 42(5): 533–544 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y>.

Pedrini, M., Bramanti, V., Minciullo, M. and Ferri, L.M. (2016) ‘Rethinking microfinance for developed countries’, Journal of International Development 28(2): 281–302 <https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3205>.

Platteau, J.P., De Bock, O. and Gelade, W. (2017) ‘The demand for microinsurance: a literature review’, World Development 94: 139–156 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.01.010>.

Ramezanali, M. and Assadi, D. (2018) ‘Does microfinance reduce poverty? The case of Brazil’, International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance 9(2): 29–45 <https://doi.org/10.18178/ijtef.2018.9.2.589>.

Sultana, H.Y., Jamal, M.A. and Najaf, D.E. (2017) ‘Impact of microfinance on women empowerment through poverty alleviation: an assessment of socio-economic conditions in Chennai City of Tamil Nadu’, Asian Journal for Poverty Studies (AJPS) 3(2): 28–40.

Taber, K.S. (2018) ‘The use of Cronbach’s alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education’, Research in Science Education 48(6): 1273–1296 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2>.

Utkin, V.S. and Yurieva, A.A. (2018) ‘Analysis of the Russian microfinance markets main problems’, Finansovyj žhurnal—Financial Journal 5: 97–107 <https://doi.org/10.31107/2075-1990-2018-5-97-107>.

Weaver, B. and Maxwell, H. (2014) ‘Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis with missing data: a simple method for SPSS users’, The Quantitative Methods for Psychology 10(2): 143–152 <https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.10.2.p143>.

Wellalage, N.H. and Fernandez, V. (2019) ‘Innovation and SME finance: evidence from developing countries’, International Review of Financial Analysis 60: 58–70 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2019.06.009>.