Developing agricultural microfinance (AMF) addresses two main issues in development finance: first, to ensure that small farmers have access to credit for production expenses; and second, to address the risks involved in agricultural production. Risks is agricultural production is so high that most formal financial institution do not venture in the agricultural sector, leaving government…
The government of Cambodia is in full-swing mobilizing resources to upgrade the country’s infrastructure in support of agricultural development. Roads, ports, irrigation and other support facilities are fast-tracked to reach the target of making Cambodia one of the main rice-exporting countries in the region, in the league with neighboring Thailand and Vietnam. Resources for these…
Borrowing is an essential part of modern living. From the credit cards of urban residents to the rural neighborhood moneylenders, financing is needed for emergency situations, household consumption and even capital for income-generating activities and small businesses. The availability of lending sources and the easy access to some of these sources pushed some people to…
Microfinance has been touted as one of the most effective tools in providing financial access to the poor, and helping them move out of poverty. In most developing countries, non-government organizations providing microfinance services are considered informal service providers. They are not regulated and government agencies in most cases acquiesced and allow them to operate…
Financial literacy is considered as one of the main tools to prevent over-indebtedness that has plagued many microfinance borrowers. A consistent and effective financial literacy program will ensure that borrowers receiving loan funds will use them for its intended purpose and will not divert it for non-productive purposes. One main concern however is the perception…
Social Performance Management (SPM) is a management tool used to translate the mission statement of microfinance institutions into reality and be able to keep track on how they perform in line with the internationally and socially accepted indicators. This will ensure that MFIs will continue to serve the poor, despite the issue of commercialization and…
Microfinance institutions providing financial intermediation functions can be used as conduits of money laundering and terrorism financing. With MFIs, it is even harder to track down since transfer of money in small amounts through a non-profit “charitable” institutions may not be monitored effectively. Deterring people with motives to use MFIs as a channel of their…
For the past three months since May 2012, a series of seminars on leadership and governance were conducted for officers of microfinance institutions in Vietnam. The course was aimed at helping the participants clarify governance, leadership and management functions and be able to delineate roles of various positions in the structure of their institutions. At…
