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Reviews and resources
01.06.2012
Microfinance and its Discontents: Women in debt in Bangladesh by Lamia Karim reviewed by Asif Dowla.Whose Sustainability Counts? BASIX's long march from microfinance to livelihoods by Malcolm Harper, Lalitha Iyer, and Jane Rosser reviewed by Padmini Ram -
Political interference in microfinance
01.12.2015
In this paper, we survey the various episodes of political interference in microfinance. The paper highlights the common sequences of such intervention and its aftermath as well as the reasoning behind the interferences. We discuss the steps microfinance institutions (MFIs) need to take to reduce political risks. We find that the causes of political interferences vary from country to country. However, in most of the cases rapid commercialization that entailed profiteering instead of profit maximization resulted in a political backlash causing enormous damage to microfinance.