Five Lessons for the Microfinance Industry
Editorial:
From the article:
Microfinance is going through a crisis. The industry that gives small uncollateralized loans, often to women for entrepreneurial activities in developing countries, is booming but has been damaged by a slew of negative events.
Its most famous banker, Muhummad Yunus, has been made to step down from Grameen Bank which he founded in the 1970s.
In India in the state of Andhra Pradesh, laws were passed to curtail microfinance lending after a number of suicides were attributed to borrowers failing to repay microfinance loans. Questions have been raised about the morality of charging high rates of interest and making profits from the poor as some banks such as SKS have had IPOs and created shareholders whose interests may not mirror those who support the social benefits of microfinance.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women’s World Banking (WWB), the world’s largest network of microfinance institutions and banks, explains where she thinks microfinance has gone wrong, why women should continue to be the focus of financial institutions in developing countries and where the sector should head next.
Source:
The Wall Street Journal (blog)
URL:
http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/07/24/five-lessons-for-the-microfinance-industry/?mod=google_news_blog
Date:
July 25, 2011
Affiliate:
0
What We Do
NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.
Print-friendly
Send to friend