Articles by Daniel Rozas
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Guest Articles
Thursday
October 8
2026Is the World Bank to Blame for the Cambodian Microfinance Crisis?
For the past five years, Cambodia’s microfinance sector has been experiencing a major over-indebtedness crisis. And as inclusive finance consultant Daniel Rozas explains, despite multiple warnings that the sector was overheating, IFC, the World Bank’s private investment arm, poured fuel on the flames by investing in the largest and fastest-growing of the country's leading microfinance institutions. Making matters worse, after an investigation by IFC’s own ombudsman concluded that clients had been harmed due to its failure to monitor the social risks created by its investments, its board dismissed those findings. He explores how the industry went off the rails in Cambodia, and argues that IFC not only worsened the crisis, it helped undermine the sector’s own efforts to avert it.
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Guest Articles
Monday
March 18
2024Sam Mendelson / Fernando Naranjo Galindo / Daniel Rozas
How Can the Financial Inclusion Sector Serve the World’s Growing Number of Refugees and Forcibly Displaced People?
There were over 108 million people worldwide estimated to be forcibly displaced as of 2022. Sam Mendelson, Fernando Naranjo Galindo and Daniel Rozas at e-MFP argue that the financial inclusion sector can and should play an important role in addressing the challenges of forced displacement. They explore how financial service providers and other stakeholders can better serve these communities, and announce the launch of the European Microfinance Award 2024, which will focus on “Advancing Financial Inclusion for Refugees & Forcibly Displaced People.”
- Categories
- Finance
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Guest Articles
Monday
March 20
2023Joana Afonso / Sam Mendelson / Fernando Naranjo Galindo / Daniel Rozas
How Inclusive Finance Can Address the World’s Most Fundamental Challenge: Food Security, Nutrition and the European Microfinance Award 2023
According to the World Food Programme, the world is facing “a food crisis of unprecedented proportions.” Joana Afonso, Sam Mendelson, Fernando Naranjo Galindo and Daniel Rozas at the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) explore the multiple drivers and dimensions of food insecurity, and explain why the financial inclusion sector is uniquely placed to address it. They share how the e-MFP's European Microfinance Award 2023 is promoting innovative solutions to the crisis through its focus on “Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition.”
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Transportation
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Guest Articles
Wednesday
March 16
2022Joana Afonso / Gabriela Erice García / Sam Mendelson / Daniel Rozas
Financial Inclusion that Works for Women: The European Microfinance Award 2022
Lending to women clients has been at the center of microfinance since its modern inception. And as Joana Afonso, Gabriela Erice, Sam Mendelson and Daniel Rozas at the European Microfinance Platform point out, there has undoubtedly been progress in promoting women’s financial inclusion. But they argue that a myopic focus on outreach too often undermines the sector's understanding of the specific barriers women face. They discuss how the 2022 European Microfinance Award's focus on “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women" aims to encourage more effective gender strategies.
- Categories
- Finance
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Guest Articles
Tuesday
March 16
2021‘The First Wealth is Health’: Exploring the European Microfinance Award 2021’s Focus on Inclusive Finance and Health Care
For the global poor, health is often the dividing line between the path to prosperity or a slide into destitution. Daniel Rozas and Sam Mendelson of e-MFP explain how precarious incomes and the absence of high-quality universal health care can push low-income households into a deeper cycle of poverty. As a response to the issue, the European Microfinance Award is seeking to highlight initiatives that facilitate access to quality and affordable health care with this year's €100,000 award, which focuses on the topic of "Inclusive Finance and Health Care."
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care
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Guest Articles
Monday
December 21
2020Liquidity Before Solvency: A Guide for Microfinance Investors in the Time of COVID-19
Among microfinance investors, there's growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic will push providers toward insolvency, with fewer loans and shrinking portfolios leading MFIs to default on their debt. But Daniel Rozas at e-MFP argues that in a crisis, preserving MFIs’ liquidity must take precedence over maintaining their solvency. To that end, he urges investors to commit to a six-month moratorium on debt repayments from MFIs.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Guest Articles
Thursday
March 12
2020A Spotlight on Effective and Inclusive Savings
Saving for an unpredictable future is one of the few genuinely universal life tenets. But for much of the past 40 years, the microfinance sector has focused overwhelmingly on credit. As Sam Mendelson and Daniel Rozas at e-MFP explain, that's one reason the 2020 European Microfinance Award is focused on “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings.” They discuss the benefits of savings in introducing the €100,000 award – which is open for applications until April 15.
- Categories
- Finance
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Guest Articles
Monday
March 18
2019The Winds of Change: Mobilizing Microfinance for Climate Change Resilience
Though the world is slowly taking action on climate change, much of the debate still focuses on mitigation. In fact, adaptation – becoming resilient to the changes to come – is equally important, say Daniel Rozas and Sam Mendelson at e-MFP. They explore how the financial inclusion industry can help vulnerable communities develop resilience to the disruptions of climate change, and to adapt to permanently changed environments. This year’s European Microfinance Award aims to inspire the sector to make this fundamental shift – interested providers can apply for the €100,000 award until April 9, 2019.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
