“Innovation” seems to be the buzzword nowadays in the microfinance industry. Articles with titles like “We need disruption in financial inclusion”(1) or “How Big Data can expand financial opportunities for the world’s poor”(2) or extolling the digital finance “revolution”(3) are commonplace in today’s literature regarding financial inclusion. The belief structure underlying this emphasis on innovation…
A. Microfinance borrowers in Nadi, Fiji, a nation of islands in the Pacific 1. The challenge of serving small/remote communities One of the main challenges in providing financial services to small and remote communities is the number of clients needed to generate a critical mass to have good…
What would you do if there are signs showing that your industry is moving towards sunset? It was met with mixed feelings by participants to the strategic planning workshop for microfinance institutions. The Credit Support Fund (CSF), a wholesale lending facility under the Vietnam Women’s Union (VMU) organized a training-workshop on strategic planning as part…
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…
