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This thesis deals with microfinance in developing countries. The first part of the work provides basic information of the origin, history and the principles of microfinancing. Another part of the work describes the various ways and possibilities of providing microfinance services, provides and compares concrete examples of microfinance institutions. Bachelor's thesis also offers informations about how to measure the effectiveness of microfinance institutions and their new alternatives. The aim of this work is to see how the current economic crisis affects individual microfinance services providers. The conclusion summarizes the findings.

My work will be focus on analyzing the development of microfinance. Firstly, I will describe the main features of the developing countries. In the next chapter I will near what microfinance is, how does it works, who serves. The main part of the work will be focus on the description of the development and shift in paradigm of microfinance and approaches to microfinance. Then I will describe the initial development of some major microfinance institutions. Furthermore, I will address the demand and the supply of microfinance. At the end of the work Iwill mention the impact of the crisis on microfinance.

Focuses on the role of microfinance at the community level in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping vulnerable, low-income populations adapt to the impacts of climate change.

As microfinanças são um instrumento de superação das restrições financeiras e correlativas dos mais carenciados, para que as suas capacidades se possam desenvolver. Esta actividade de inclusão financeira deve ser sustentável e pode ser rentável. Inúmeros estudos foram efectuados sobre o impacto das microfinanças, ao nível local e dos indivíduos beneficiários, bem como sobre a sustentabilidade financeira dessas instituições. O presente estudo trata dum assunto pouco analisado: o desempenho social das instituições de microfinanças (IMFs), ou seja a sintonia entre a dimensão social da missão estratégica e a actuação concreta das IMFs. Para tal utilizámos o instrumento SPI - Social Performance Indicators, cedido pelo CERISE para avaliar o desempenho das instituições de microfinanças em Moçambique. A amostra é constituída por sete IMFs moçambicanas que representam 80% da carteira em Moçambique. Os resultados mostram uma grande concentração nas principais zonas urbanas e um desempenho social médio que carece de melhoria. Em comparação com os resultados internacionais a média Moçambicana é inferior. The microfinances are an instrument to overcome the financial restrictions of low income people so that their capacities can be developed. This activity of financial inclusion must be sustainable and can be income-producing. There are several studies about the impact of the microfinances on the beneficiary individuals and about the financial sustainability of the microfinance institutions (IMFs). The present study deals with a non-common subject: the social performance of the IMF, that is with real implementation of the IMF's mission. For this we used the instrument SPI developed by CERISE to evaluate the performance of the IMFs in Mozambique. This results show a geographical concentration in the main towns and an average social performance that lacks improvement. In comparison with the international results Mozambican's average is lower.

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) have risen to the forefront as invaluable institutions in the development process. Nevertheless, capital constraints have hindered the expansion of microfinance programs such that the demand for financial services still far exceeds the currently available supply. Moreover, it is observed that microfinance organizations have had various degrees of sustainability. Thus, the question of how best to fund these programs is a key issue. Recognizing the potential of microfinance in the development process, this paper examines the existing sources of funding for MFIs by geographic region, and explores how changes in capital structure could facilitate future growth and improve the efficiency and financial sustainability of MFIs. Using panel data, I establish a link between capital structure and key measures of MFI success. Notably, I find causal evidence supporting the assertion that an increased use of grants by MFIs decreases operational self-sufficiency.

The present paper proposes solutions allow to remove the partitions between formal and informal finance sectors in Guinea and to improve micro and small enterprises financing in Guinea. In spite of many financial reforms carried bye public authorities, the national financial system structure doesn't allow an optimal allocation of resources to economy. The losses of earnings are important as well for the financial institutions and the economics actors. The interest to search a complementary between commercial banks and Institutions of Micro-finance (IMF) aims to reinforce the capacities of financing of the IMF for helping micro and small enterprise to reach to the financial resourcesnecessary for their growth, Le présent papier propose des solutions permettant de supprimer les cloisons qui séparent les secteurs financiers formels et semi-formels en Guinée, et d'améliorer le financement des micro et petites entreprises. En dépit des nombreuses réformes financières menées par les autorités publiques, la structure du système financier national ne permet pas une allocation optimale des ressources à l'économie. Les manques à gagner sont importants aussi bien pour les institutions financières que pourles acteurs économiques. La recherche d'une complémentarité entre banques commerciales et Institutions de Micro-finance (IMF) vise à renforcer les capacités de financement de ces dernières pour doter les micros et petites entreprises des ressources financières nécessaires à leur croissance.

Tulisan ini membahas sifat dan arti penting lembaga keuangan mikro (LKM) dalam pembangunan ekonomi. Bukti-bukti dari beberapa negara sedang berkembang (NSB) menunjukkan bahwa LKM telah berkembang tidak hanya sebagai lembaga keuangan per se tetapi juga sebagai alat pembangunan (development tools) di dalam mengentaskan kemiskinan. Lebih dari itu, bukti-bukti juga menunjukkan pula bahwa LKM selain berperan penting sebagai lembaga perantara keuangan (financial intermediaries) yang mampu meningkatkan proses pendalaman sistem keuangan (financial deepening) juga mempunyai dampak yang positif terhadap peningkatan pendapatan masyarakat miskin, menciptakan lapangan kerja, dan meningkatkan tabungan masyarakat.

This study assesses the state of microinsurance in the country, identifies the players and their performance, and the challenges facing microinsurance development. The term micro pertains to the capacity of a program to handle the small, sometime irregular cash flows of poor households, who have been excluded in the commercial insurance system for a variety of reasons. Microinsurance products, specifically designed with the poor in mind, will help mitigate risks and reduce the vulnerability of poor households. The most prominent forms of microinsurance are life insurance and health insurance (carried out as part of an overall health care package that links the health insurance to a health facility), which have been designed to be responsive to the need of poor households. The paper reports 17 players in the emerging microinsurance industry, consisting of 12 cooperatives, three NGOs/MFIs, and two transport associations that are offering home-made microinsurance. These “home-made” microinsurance products continue to be provided despite their actuarial weaknesses and lack of financial capacity of the providers because of very strong demand from their membership for such financial products. Given their advantages over commercial insurance companies, the mutual benefit associations (MBAs) are the usual vehicles of microinsurance programs. In 2004, 18 MBAs were registered with the Insurance Commission (IC) with accumulated assets of PhP14.8 billion. Members equity totaled PhP4.25 billion. The paper calls attention to the institutional, policy and regulatory issues and challenges facing microinsurance.

This article reviews the evidence on the importance of finance for economic well-being. It provides data on the use of basic financial services by households and firms across a sample of countries, assesses the desirability of universal access, and provides an overview of the macroeconomic, legal, and regulatory obstacles to access. Despite the benefits of finance, the data show that use of financial services is far from universal in many countries, especially developing countries. Universal access to financial services has not been a public policy objective in most countries and would likely be difficult to achieve. Countries can, however, facilitate access to financial services by strengthening institutional infrastructure, liberalizing markets and facilitating greater competition, and encouraging innovative use of know-how and technology. Government interventions to directly broaden access to finance, however, are costly and fraught with risks, among others the risk of missing the targeted groups. The article concludes with recommendations for global actions aimed at improving data on access and use and suggestions on areas of further analysis to identify constraints to broadening access.

This report analyzes microfinance in the Middle East and North Africa, and offers recommendations on how to further develop the industry. Microfinance is the provision of financial services to the entrepreneurial poor, a definition with two important features: it emphasizes a range of financial services-not just credit-and it emphasizes the entrepreneurial poor. The region's emerging microfinance industry differs from those in other parts of the world. Expectations are too high: microfinance is not a panacea for, or solution to unemployment, for narrowly defined, most microfinance institutions only offer credit for business activities, and do not offer savings or deposit services. Governments are interested in regulating microfinance, and several countries have passed laws on microfinance, efforts that risk jeopardizing the industry's healthy development. Moreover, second generation issues may slow the industry's growth, demonstrated by the fact that many microfinance institutions are experiencing crises, after rapid initial growth, and need time to consolidate and restructure. Islamic finance methodologies are being applied by new microfinance programs, and existing programs that use Islamic finance-some of them very large-have become more visible. This report draws heavily on two Bank surveys of microfinance institutions in the region, one assessing developments as of the end of 1997, and the other as of end of 1999. Egypt remains the region's leading provider but has lost market share, while Morocco is second, having experienced dramatic growth since 1997. But other countries, such as Lebanon, and the West Bank and Gaza, saw their microfinance industries stagnate, or even shrink. This was mainly because microfinance players in these countries went through restructuring, and consolidation as they faced second generation issues. The report stipulates that for programs to reach the scale of microfinance institutions as in other parts of the world, they must raise funds commercially-including taking deposits, which will also enable them to broaden their approach to microfinance, moving beyond credit for businesses. And, by mobilizing savings and deposits, they will be able to serve many more clients. Donors and practitioners alike, should be prepared for the array of new training needs, deciding to transform into a new legal entity, and institutional form. Policymakers, meanwhile, should be prepared to create legal environments appropriate for prudent, but growing microfinance.

Poverty alleviation has been the main target of developmental projects world-wide. However, only a few ideas have stirred so much attention in the last two decades as that of the provision of microfinance through specialised institutions. This paper provides a survey of the vast literature that has developed in this field. Though most of the evidence and literature on the subject appears self-praising, nonetheless there is much more to the concept than one can imagine. The establishment of microfinance institutions (MFIs) world-wide for the provision of collateral free loans to the poor through mechanisms and instruments not known to normal commercial banks has set new milestones in the field of financial services. With 900 million households in the less developed countries left without any access to formal financial services, this might just be the key to address market failures in the financial landscape.

This paper has re-examined the role of Land Bank of the Philippines, a government-owned bank, in light of the recent reforms and developments in the Philippine financial markets. It recommends that the Land Bank should shed off its commercial and investment functions, which can very well be done by private commercial banks, and instead focus on its development function. It also argues that there is no need for the government to create a Grameen-type of bank because the Land Bank, once transformed into a market-based microfinance development institution, can play that role.

Despite the government's credit program approach, access of poor households to microfinancial services has remained limited. This paper explains the microfinance policy environment in the Philippines and evaluates the institutional and financial capacity/performance constraints of MFIs. This also addresses four areas that will allow MFIs to be self-sustaining financial institutions for the poor.

El artículo tiene como propósito revisar la bibliografía existente de las metodologías utilizadas y los resultados del impacto social de la filosofía microcrédito Grameen en Bangladesh, su país de origen, para encontrar diferencias y posibles determinantes del bajo impacto que éste ha tenido en Colombia y señalar los aspectos fundamentales para alcanzar las metas que se buscan con el microcrédito que se pueden resumir en “erradicar la pobreza”. Adicionalmente, se hace referencia a los modelos de mayor éxito en Latinoamérica como referentes en similitud al caso colombiano. La información se obtuvo mediante la revisión, por palabra clave “Microcrédito”, de publicaciones impresas y bases de datos en internet como Dialnet, E-Libro, CEPAL, EBSCO, entre otras, además gran parte de la información se tomó de las publicaciones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) tanto en lengua inglesa como española. Asimismo, se manifiestan factores que pueden llevar al éxito en las microfinanzas de acuerdo a investigaciones realizadas por algunos autores. En general, se establece que en Colombia se pueden adoptar los principios del Banco Grameen, ya que publicaciones mencionadas en esta investigación demuestran cómo han mejorado las condiciones de vida de las personas pobres en diferentes países. The paper aims to review the existing literature on the methodologies used and results of the social impact of philosophy Grameen microcredit in Bangladesh, their country original, to find differences and possible determinants of the low impact it has had in Colombia and identify key to reaching the goals that microcredit is looking for, which can be summarized as "to eradicate poverty." Additionally, this document refers to the most successful models in Latin America and similar references in the Colombian case. The information was obtained through review, keyword "Microcredit", printed publications and online databases as Dialnet, E-Book, CEPAL, EBSCO, among others, and much of the information was taken from publications Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in both English and Spanish. Also express factors that can lead to success in microfinance, according to research by some authors. In general, states that Colombia can embrace the principles of Grameen Bank, as publications mentioned in this research show how they have improved the lives of poor people in different countries.

This paper aims to assess the performance of Village Credit Institutions (Lembaga Perkreditan Desa or LPD) in Gianyar district, Bali province, Indonesia and its affecting factors –particularly its institutional environment. The performance indicators assessed include financial indicators (such as portfolio quality, leverage, capital adequacy ratio, productivity, efficiency, profitability, and financial viability) and outreach of the LPDs. Institutions here refer to the rules or procedures that shape how agents (people) interact and the organizations that implement the rules and codes of conduct to achieve desired outcomes. Based on data from financial reports of 174 LPDs of Gianyar district in 1999 and 2001, interviews with some stakeholders (clients, chairmen, and member of commissioner board) of the LPDs, and using descriptive analysis approach, this paper reveals that the LPDs have achieved a good performance indicators and been sustainable, and the good performance and sustainability have been very much influenced by institutional environment which includes both formal and informal institutions.

The dissertation chooses Vietnam as a typical case to address the gap in microfinance studies. Instead of focusing on the beneficiaries of the microfinance system, as many studies have been done, the subjects of this study are microfinance institutions (MFIs). The objective is to suggest a balanced sustainability approach for MFIs in Vietnam that refers to governance practices, legal environmental, and social and financial objectives as equally important. Particularly, it identifies the constraints and the potential, and suggests workable approaches to support Vietnam microfinance providers in extending and developing services throughout the country in a financially sustainable manner., Doctor of Philosophy in Contemporary Asian Studies, Doshisha University

El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar el contagio en los rendimientos en las volatilidades de las Instituciones Microfinancieras (IMFs) que cotizan en mercados bursatiles emergentes en India, Indonesia y Mexico. Para ello se incluyen en el analisis variables benchmarck locales y el indice global –All Countries World Index (ACWI). La metodologia que se utiliza es la de un modelo multivariable GARCH de Correlacion Condicional Dinamica (DCC). Los resultados empiricos encontrados muestran que los efectos de contagio solo se dan en periodos de alta volatilidad. Una limitacion que presenta esta investigacion es que aun son pocas las IMFs listadas en bolsas, lo que impide realizar un estudio mas amplio. La originalidad de este trabajo es el analisis de contagio en los rendimientos de las IMFs listadas en bolsa. Se concluye que el desempeno de las IMFs analizadas no se ve afectado por efectos externos de volatilidad, sino por sus resultados fundamentales reflejados en su nivel de liquidez bursatil.

Microfinance institutions of four types have emerged to meet the unfulfilled financing needs of micro-entrepreneurs: commercial banks, specialized NGO-type microfinance institutions, membership-based institutions (such as rural cooperatives and credits unions), and public funds. All four types have enjoyed significant growth in Russia in the past five years, but the industry is still at an early stage of development. Demand appears to far outweigh supply.