This report analyzes in detail the state of microfinance in 2008 throughout Sub-Saharan Africa focusing on key growth trends, major legal and regulatory changes, funding for microfinance, and performance of MFIs.

In April 1997, the CGAP Secretariat launched an experiment called the CGAP Pilot Microfinance Capacity-building Initiative in Africa. The initiative spanned East and West Africa and focused primarily on working with African training institutes to provide financial management courses to microfinance institutions (MFIs). The Pilot Initiative sought to build the foundation for the development of a market for quality training and technical assistance services offered on a sustainable basis in the region.

This paper presents the first public findings on how low-income people view and use m-banking, using results of a survey of 515 low-income individuals in South Africa. Three hundred of those surveyed do not use m-banking, while 215 are customers of WIZZIT, a startup mobile banking provider. WIZZIT targets the 16 million South Africans who lack or have difficulty accessing formal banking services.

Given significant financial sector reforms and private sector innovations, there are encouraging signs that access to finance is poised for growth in Nigeria.

Understanding client exit and nonparticipation can shed important light on the financial service preferences of clients and help programs learn about the limitations of their existing products and mechanisms. Such lessons can drive the development of innovative, demand-driven microfinance products and systems, benefiting both the institution and the clients.

This report covers the South Africa study in which interviews were conducted and information gathered from three government agencies, two banks, and 10 focus groups of clients.