Research & Analysis

The Role of Mobile Operators in Expanding Access to Finance

The fact that mobile phones can be used as transactional devices doesn’t necessarily mean that the mobile operator needs to “own” the financial services.

Microfinance and Climate Change: Threats and Opportunities

The changing climate is part of a new global environment that impacts all countries, economies, sectors, and people. Microfinance, like everything else, will not be spared.

Microfinance Managers Consider Online Funding

The growth in online lending and investment platforms presents an opportunity and a challenge for MFIs intent on tapping the potential of online lenders or investors. This paper focuses on the demand side of the equation and highlights issues that MFIs may want to consider before signing up for a loan from an online lending platform.

CGAP-MIX 2008 Eastern Europe and Central Asia Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report

A central theme of the report is to address this variety in the levels of microfinance development and provide an overview of the key trends in the general level of development, policy environment, funding sources, external investments and the performance of microfinance institutions.

Efficiency Drivers of MFIs: The Role of Age

Institutional efficiency is generally measured by dividing operating expenses by the size of the loan portfolio.

Are Microcredit Interest Rates Excessive?

Over the past two decades, institutions that make microloans to low-income borrowers in developing and transition economies have focused increasingly on making their operations financially sustainable by charging interest rates that are high enough to cover all their costs.

SmartAid for Microfinance Index 2009: Submission Guide

SmartAid measures whether funding agencies are set up to support microfinance effectively. It is the first index of its kind that promotes transparent external assessments of funders’ management systems. SmartAid helps funders understand how their internal management systems, policies, procedures, and incentives affect their work in microfinance.

The Global Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Microfinance

So far, policy makers have mostly focused on macro-level measures. And in some regions like Latin America, they are taking a cautious wait-and-see attitude for the first semester of 2009, with more clarity on their steps to be expected later this year.

The New Moneylenders: Are Microcredit Interest Rates Too High?

The problem is that administrative costs are inevitably higher for tiny microlending than for normal bank lending.

Shedding Light on Microfinance Equity Valuation: Past and Present

The report's objective is to provide benchmarks for valuation of microfinance equity, both private and publicly listed.