Research & Analysis

Microfinance Transparency and Reporting to Donors

Knowing and understanding the components that contribute to transparency in microfinance is half of battle. It is also particularly useful to know how donor reports can enhance transparency for the whole microfinance sector. This Donor Brief provides suggestions for achieving better transparency in reporting.

Making Sense of Microcredit Interest Rates

Why do microfinance institutions (MFIs) charge such high interest rates to the poor? This Donor Brief gives donors a quick reference to use when answering questions about seemingly high microcredit interest rates. It also explains how donors can tell if an MFI's rates are too high and suggests what to do.

What are Apex Institutions in Microfinance?

Many apex institutions have dubious track records. This Donor Brief explains how donors can recognize a good apex institution and then support it, thus avoiding common donor mistakes with apexes.

Savings Are as Important as Credit: Deposit Services for the Poor

Savings are often the only way poor people can manage to pay for a major life event (such as a marriage or funeral), survive a natural disaster, or take advantage of a business opportunity. This Donor Brief outlines what donors can do to support savings services that help poor people improve their lives.

Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Drop to Drink

"Water" in this title refers to donor funds for microfinance institutions (MFIs). Strong MFIs have an oversupply of donor funds, it seems money is everywhere. But many smaller and promising MFIs cannot get the funds they need to grow. This Donor Brief addresses how donor funding can become more effective.

Microcredit: One of Many Intervention Strategies

Microcredit is just one of many strategies that can alleviate poverty, generate income, and promote employment. This Donor Brief outlines for donors when microcredit will be successful, when it is inappropriate, and what alternative interventions can be used to strengthen the livelihoods of the poor.

Microfinance Donor Projects: Twelve Questions About Sound Practice

This Donor Brief highlights twelve questions and answers that will help donors introduce sound practice into their microfinance projects and increase their chances of success.

Apex Institutions in Microfinance

The Occasional Paper reviews the experience of national microfinance apexes -- wholesale mechanisms that channel funds, with or without supporting technical services, to retail microfinance institutions in a single country or integrated market.

A Multilateral Donor Triumphs over Disbursement Pressure

The CrediAmigo microfinance program mounted by Brazil’s Banco do Nordeste (BN) shows how an international financial institution like the World Bank can be a useful catalyst in the development of microfinance retail capacity.

Resource Guide to Microfinance Assessments

This Resource Guide compares five of the better known microfinance institution (MFI) assessment services and describes the challenges facing such assessments.