Tag Archives: microfinance

Should we just give money to the poor?

Posted in: Alternatives in development, Microfinance, Poverty | November 14, 2012 at 3:12 am , by Tanya Cothran

Cash grant recipients as part of Spirit in Action's program in Malawi

Have you ever been around a development program that was gradually getting more and more complicated? With underused administrators and layers of reporting and bureaucracy that never trickles down to benefit the students? In Just Give Money to the Poor, the authors suggest we skip the complex programs and just...

Building financial literacy in the Pacific with CUFA’s Executive Officer Peter Mason | AidWorks

Posted in: AidWorks | September 3, 2012 at 6:00 am , by Albion Harrison-Naish

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Corin Milllais CFL class in Cambodia_WEB

This year, 2012, is the UN International Year of the Cooperatives. It is aimed at increasing awareness of alternative business models that are often highly successful. AidWorks speaks with CUFA's Executive Officer, Peter Mason, about how poor people can still save and benefit from financial literacy and services....

Micro-loans or micro-savings: what works?

Posted in: Microfinance, Poverty | May 21, 2012 at 8:22 am , by Tanya Cothran

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After her time in Malawi, Tanya Cothran began to question if micro-loans truly alleviate poverty or empower people, as we’ve heard so often over the past few years. Not the only sceptic, Tanya reviews David Roodman’s “Due Diligence: An impertinent inquiry into microfinance” and finds that for all the marketing...

Paying it forward: micro-grants, not micro-loans

Posted in: Alternatives in development, Microfinance | March 22, 2012 at 12:33 pm , by Guest Author/s

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It used to be common sense that micro-loans were the only way to ensure the sustainability of a micro-finance program and that the act of paying back the loan would instill the sense of “ownership” in the grant recipients. How could a micro-grant – labeled a “hand out” – do...

whylinks

Posted in: Links | June 17, 2011 at 1:20 pm , by Brendan Rigby

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A list of favourite links for the week to get you through the weekend....

Banking on the poor in China

Posted in: Microfinance | March 10, 2011 at 1:35 pm , by Brendan Rigby

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Earlier last week, it was announced by the central bank of Bangladesh that the Banker to the Poor, the Father of Microfinance, Professor Muhammad Yunus was being sacked. Professor Yunus and Bangladesh are synonymous with microfinance. And, although the Indian subcontinent accounts for the majority of the world’s MFIs...

Borrowing from Facebook: new directions in microfinance

Posted in: Microfinance | November 19, 2010 at 12:14 pm , by Brendan Rigby

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According to some reports, the microfinance sector in India is in chaos and crisis. The demand for microfinance is high. But what do borrowers really want? The recent events in Andhra Pradesh, India allows us to reflect on approaches to microfinance and look for new directions. In this feature, Brendan...