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Lessons from the MIX in Tracking Islamic Microfinance Development

Consistently tracking and analyzing the performance of Islamic microfinance providers will be key to improving their services and, in turn, broadening their outreach.

Credit Market Saturation: Anatomy of a Recent Debate

Two recent posts on repayment of microfinance loans in Tamil Nadu has sparked a debate between the authors. Both of whom raise a question for the industry as a whole: how can we better measure over-indebtedness and market saturation?

What Do We Know about the Impact of Microinsurance?

Knowledge is still patchy but key insights are emerging on the impact of microinsurance products including financial protection and better access to health care.

Top 7 Opportunities for Funders to Advance Microinsurance

The Microinsurance Network and its members have identified interesting opportunities for donors and funders, based on experiments already underway, to further galvanize the sector.

Smart Policy: Why Islamic Banks Matter in Indonesia

With financing a key need for millions of micro to mid-sized entrepreneurs, empowering Islamic financial service providers to reach more clients is not only good for business. It’s smart policy.

Can Islamic Banking Offer Some Lessons to Islamic Microfinance?

The journey of Islamic banking may offer some lessons - including product diversity - to Islamic microfinance.

Why is the Progress of Mobile Money so Gradual and Patchy?

Mobile money may be inevitable, but progress thus far has been slow and results scant.

Does Outpatient Care Through Microinsurance Offer Value?

Is there a business case for microinsurance? Does it provide value for clients? In Tanzania, The MicroInsurance Centre's MILK Project found two clear benefits to clients: getting them to a doctor sooner and efficiently financing health shocks.

Sharia-Compliant Finance for MSMEs in Algeria

Since many youth in Algeria are reluctant to use financial products that charge interest (a violation of Islamic financial principles), the Algerian government set out to to make available a Sharia-compliant product that is both affordable and scalable.

Micro Health Insurance: Chronicle of a Death Foretold?

Micro health insurance clients are increasingly being served by government-backed services. Does this mean that the trend is to move away from private providers?

A National Experiment: Sharia-Compliant Finance in Sudan

Sudan's banking system went Islamic in the 1980's and can offer several lessons on delivering Sharia-compliant financial products to the poor.

A History Lesson for Advancing Interoperability in Mobile Money

What can we learn from the past in markets like the United States and Japan that can help advance interoperability between financial service providers?

From Diagnostic to Action: Developing Microinsurance in Nigeria

A Microinsurance Country Diagnostic in Nigeria revealed that while there is a huge opportunity for the development of a microinsurance market, low-income people in the country have limited knowledge of insurance and the value it can deliver.

Islamic Microfinance in Pakistan: The Experience so Far

There is huge potential for microfinance providers to expand outreach in the niche market of Sharia-compliant financial services in Pakistan. This could be achieved by diversifying products as well as expanding geographic outreach.

Access to Insurance Through Regulation and Supervision

Adequate regulation and supervision enhance policyholder protection. That is the ultimate objective of insurance supervision and regulation according to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

Islamic Microfinance in Yemen: Challenges and Opportunities

In an effort to foster hope and stability among Yemen’s poor, who have been disproportionately affected by the country’s turmoil, Al-Amal Microfinance Bank is working to introduce a range of Sharia-compliant microfinance products aimed at reaching the unbanked.

Inclusive Finance and Segmenting Smallholder Farmers

Not all smallholder farmers are the same. Of the 500 million smallholders in low- and middle-income countries, many need specialized financial services tailored to their agricultural activities.

Mobile Life Insurance: Innovations From Pakistan

The commercial viability of businesses that provide life insurance to the poor is difficult to predict. The strong penetration of mobile phones in Pakistan provides a cost-effective method of acquiring customers that holds promise for the industry.

Learning How To Move A Microinsurance Market From Zambia

Can a market development approach that takes a holistic view, tackling problems of demand and supply, policy and regulation be successful in developing a microinsurance market? Based on our experience in Zambia, we would argue that the answer is yes.

Standing Firm With Clients When Catastrophe Hits

In the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, Fonkoze—Haiti’s largest MFI and the only one that offers catastrophe microinsurance to its 65,000 clients—faced more than 17,000 claims to review.