Microcredit banking offers business training, peer support, and small loans (even only a few dollars) to the world's poorest people. It has been extremely successful at driving sustainable development. Microfinance is a form of Socially responsible investing.

Integral part of development[edit | edit source]

Microfinance is not a complete solution to development problems, but can be an integral part. For example, microcredit is used in the Slum NetworkingW model, to enable facilities to be built by the slum community without relying on subsidies.

Microlending is a new emerging solution to economic development because it allows its recipients to reinvent their lives; it is a bottom-up, grass-roots approach that recognizes the entrepreneurial and tenacious spirit of the poorest of the poor. It is a way to build infrastructure, save lives, create role models, unlock people's potential, and ultimately push a hurting economy forward.

Agricultural microfinance[edit | edit source]

Livestock are used in innovative microfinance schemes such as "Cow Banks" and "Rice Banks"[1] They can be a valuable tool in development.

Emancipation loans[edit | edit source]

Emancipation loans are used to release people from difficult situations, such as owing a large debt to a moneylender, and thus having no capital, and no means to repay the debt, in spite of hard work. The emancipation loan pays off the debt and releases the financial pressure, and they can then participate in other microfinance activities. Repayment of this debt is deferred until the borrower's situation has improved; the time to begin repayment is decided jointly by the borrowers group (typically 5 people) to which she/he belongs. This is practised by the Grameen BankW as well as other MFIs (microfinance institutions).

Analysis[edit | edit source]

While microfinance is a source of many inspiring stories, and opportunities for empowerment, and for more direct engagement between supporters and loan recipients,[2] proper monitoring and evaluation are essential to ensure the actual impact is positive and maximal.

MIX Market - "Strengthening the Microfinance Sector with Objective Data and Analysis" - is one prominent effort to do this.

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes and references =[edit | edit source]

  1. Cow Banks – what are they? & - Ockenden Cambodia. accessed 15 December 2006
  2. Notably the Kiva model allows this sense off connection.

External links[edit | edit source]

Discussion[View | Edit]

Remove promotional section[edit source]

I removed the section that begins:

==Get Involved
Www.PromoteAfrica.Org [1]

That was added by an anon editor in 2008.

I was initially going to create a new article for it looked for info about this project and about the Bright Ideas Grant site prominently linked from their site, all I found were pieces apparently by the same people, from 2010 or earlier, and a Twitter account inactive since 2011.

Now, this may well be a wonderful idea, and run by decent people, but it makes me think about how we decide what is acceptable info here. What processes do we need for dealing with these cases? --Chriswaterguy 00:37, 2 March 2013 (PST)

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