MICROFINANCE IN CULTURES OF NON-REPAYMENT

The microfinance industry seeks to alleviate poverty by providing business loans and related financial services to clients who are too small to be served profitably through the formal financial sector. Microbusiness lending is considered to be among the most powerful tools available for promoting entrepreneurial activity and economic development. However, a significant number of current and potential entrepreneurs remain untouched by microfinance. They live in regions considered to have cultures of non-repayment, which render them "unbankable." By better understanding non-repayment cultures and developing management strategies attuned to the unique attributes of these regions, the microfinance industry can effectively and profitably support these underserved entrepreneurs.