The past year held many challenges for microfinance: not since the Asian crisis of the late 1990s has the sector faced a more difficult economic environment. Yet despite these conditions, most microfinance institutions (MFIs) proved to be up to the challenge. This report is the result of a...

This report provides benchmarks for valuation of microfinance equity, both private and publicly listed. We use a unique sample of 144 private equity transactions and 10 publicly listed microfinance institutions. MFIs will certainly be affected by the financial crisis ricocheting across the...

This paper reviews the growing literature that has spawned around branchless and mobile banking in developing countries over the last five years. Around 2.6 billion people in the world do not have access to formal financial services, and yet 1 billion of them have a mobile phone. Branchless...

This article investigates whether self-employed households use consumer loans – in particular, instalment loans and overdrafts – to finance business activities. Controlling for financial and nonfinancial household variables, we show that self-employed households particularly use personal...

Global differences in microcredit interest rates are dramatic. The global average is about 35 percent, but the average in Uzbekistan is above 80 percent, and in Sri Lanka it is around 17 percent. Small loan sizes are the most commonly cited reason why microcredit rates are higher than normal...

This paper investigates whether self-employed households use consumer loans - in particular installment loans and overdrafts - to finance business activities. Controlling for financial and non-financial household variables we show that self-employed households particularly use personal...

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are becoming more efficient. This brief sheds light on how the age of individual MFIs and the age of the industry affect efficiency improvements. On an MFI level the authors look into scale economies, cost structure, and process durations as potential efficiency...

This paper investigates whether self-employed households use consumer loans – inparticular instalment loans and overdrafts – to finance business activities. Controlling forfinancial and non-financial household variables we show that self-employed householdsparticularly use personal...

This paper investigates whether self-employed households use consumer loans - in particular instalment loans and overdrafts - to finance business activities. Controlling for financial and non-financial household variables we show that self-employed households particularly use personal overdrafts...

This paper investigates whether self-employed households use consumer loans - in particular instalment loans and overdrafts - to finance business activities. Controlling for financial and non-financial household variables we show that self-employed households particularly use personal overdrafts...