The Commercialization of Microfinance: Balancing Business and Development

Microfinance has been promoted as having the potential to be a self-sustainable solution to poverty, and consequently has attracted growing interest among international development professionals. Many of the organizations that provide microfinance started as NGOs, but there is a growing trend for these organizations to transform themselves into regulated, for-profit entities. At the same time traditional financial institutions are also entering the microfinance market. Latin America has led the way in this process, but the same transformation is occurring, at a slower pace, in other regions of the world as well. Prominent practitioners and scholars from a variety of organizations have come together to study this phenomenon and address the key issues related to bringing microfinance into the commercial realm. The Commercialization of Microfinance explores key trends, and presents case studies of microfinance institutions operating as commercial entities. Prepared by ACCION, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding how the world of microfinance is changing, and how that world affects the broader processes of development.