Few commercial banks have engaged in profitable microfinance lending despite repeated attempts by donor agencies to entice their entry. The case of Banco de la Empresa, a Latin American private bank, illustrates how penetration of the microenterprise market segment could evolve. This paper...

The microinsurance market in Latin America is still in its embryonic phase. The purpose of this technical note is to better inform donors, national governments, and insurance companies interested in promoting financial inclusion about how they can accelerate the development of microinsurance...

Este informe examina una muestra de 42 instituciones financieras con carteras agropecuarias en América Latina, e identifica cuáles son los principales riesgos percibidos, cómo evalúan los riesgos, cómo los manejan, y cuán efectivas son en el proceso.

El objetivo del presente informe es examinar las técnicas comunes de manejo de riesgos usadas en una muestra de instituciones financieras de América Latina con carteras agropecuarias e identificar los factores que contribuyen al manejo efectivo del riesgo crediticio. En este informe se...

El objetivo de este documento es identificar las prácticas más adecuadas para el diseño e implementación de proyectos de desarrollo de autogestión comunitaria en Centroamérica, con especial énfasis en el caso de Nicaragua. El presente estudio se emprendió con el deseo de mejorar las...

El propósito de este documento es analizar un programa que emite tarjetas de crédito a proveedores de insumos agrícolas y a productores rurales en Costa Rica, y determinar si el programa es viable desde el punto de vista financiero y potencialmente reproducible en otras áreas de América...

The purpose of this paper is to provide Bank staff interested in agricultural yield insurance market development, public officials responsible for financial market policy formulation and supervision, and insurance industry practitioners in Latin America and the Caribbean with a basic primer on...

Agricultural value chain financing (VCF) is an emerging phenomenon in the region but it is not well studied. Historically, small- and medium-sized famers experience problems accessing formal finance. Participation in a well-structured and dynamic supply chain seems to improve chances of...

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on coordination failures, apply game theory to coordination issues within selected rural development projects in order to develop a set of guidelines to avoid and minimize coordination failures. The ultimate aim is to promote development...

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been successful in providing credit to millions of low-income borrowers in groups previously excluded from formal financial services, but they often charge interest rates that many claim are excessive. We examine microfinance interest rates and their...