This paper investigates in a Bangladeshi setting whether membership of a microfinance program reduces perceptions of social exclusion as well as impacting on poverty reduction. Using a control group that has no microfinance institution membership, it compares the responses of both members and...

Microfinance programs can also serve as social development tool. This can lead to a higher social status, better education, more independence and better political participation of women. This paper focuses on the wider areas of microfinance’s role in social participation and socio-political...

One of the major programs advocated by NGOs worldwide and, more specifically, in South Asia is 'credit' provision along with their other social agendas. NGOs providing such credit have become known as microfinance institutions or MFIs. By advocating and implementing microfinance programs, MFIs...

The regulation of microfinance services is likely to have a wide-ranging influence on the microfinance sector, particularly on institutions and their clients. This paper reveals the impact of a specific regulatory regime, the "Microcredit Regulatory Authority Act, 2006", enacted by the...

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is widely recognized as a vital tool to promote various socio-economic goals in developing countries. In this paper, we explore two crucial areas in South Asia, namely, the role of microfinance towards the expansion of ICT in the...