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The Hidden Impact of Microcredit: Three Under-recognized Ways the Industry Can Help Emerging Markets
Microcredit has historically been evaluated – and often found lacking – on the terms that the industry was built on: raising the income, investment and consumption of clients. But, according to Timothy Ogden, there are other ways that microfinance may have had an impact, including helping to build institutions, training people in the technology of management, and strengthening civil society.
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Bangladesh government plans to strengthen Grameen Bank
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the government plans to strengthen Grameen Bank further so that the Nobel Prize winning microcredit lender becomes more relevant in changing times.
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- South Asia
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Microfinance Looks Toward the Future – But Will Fintech Revive the Controversies of Its Past?
James Militzer's wrap-up of European Microfinance Week says microfinance has lurched from development sector darling to punching bag over the years, but in the midst of this turmoil – and in reaction to it – practitioners at industry events have been diligently reimagining their sector. That take earned Militzer a spot in our Most Influential contest. You can participate by casting a vote ... but you've only got one more day.
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Opportunity International and MyBucks: A Dangerous Partnership Decision?
Long-time microfinance watchdog Chuck Waterfield expresses serious concerns about the ramifications of Opportunity International's sale of six microfinance banks to the fintech company MyBucks – both for the clients of those banks as well as for the broader microfinance industry. This post, which originally appeared on June 21, was the most popular post on NB that month, and is part of our Most Influential Post of 2016 contest.
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The Surprising Reason Why Savings Boosts Income: New Research Reveals an Unexpected Benefit of Financial Inclusion
Make it easier to save, and people will save more. This seems straightforward and holds true for customers in rich and poor countries alike. Make it easier to save, and people will save more and earn more. This sounds a little less intuitive, especially if you posit that this increase in income will happen almost immediately. Yet this is exactly what researchers have found - and the reason why is surprising.
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Is Maharashtra the Next Andhra Pradesh for the Microfinance Industry?
Microfinance companies in Maharashtra are seeing early signs of trouble, reminiscent of a crisis that gripped the sector in 2010 when repayments came to a virtual standstill in Andhra Pradesh revealing poor lending practices by the industry.
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- South Asia
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Why Microfinance Should Embrace – Not Resist – A New Brand
We've launched our Most Influential Post of 2016 contest, and every day through Jan. 2 we'll publish another monthly winner included in the competition. This article, the most-viewed post on NextBillion for February, discusses the profound rebranding of microcredit over the past 25 years. There's also a list of the other best-read posts in 2016 and an opportunity to vote for your favorite.
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It’s Time Research Caught Up with Microfinance Realities
As part of our Most Influential Post of 2016 contest, we are re-publishing the most popular articles from each month over the past year. This article by Kathleen Odell, an associate professor of economics and acting associate dean at Dominican University’s Brennan School of Business, was the most-viewed post on NextBillion for January 2016. There's also a list of the other best-read posts in 2016 and an opportunity to vote for your favorite.
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- microfinance, research
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