Great Expectations: Microfinance and Poverty Reduction in Asia and Latin America
Weiss, John; Montgomery, Heather | September 2004
Abstract
Microfinance developed in Asia and Latin America under very different ideological, political and economic conditions. Hence, there are distinctive differences in the microfinance industry in the two regions. A brief look at the history of two of the most famous MFIs: the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and Banco Sol in Bolivia, gives an informative picture of how the industry in the two regions can be characterized. Modern microfinance was born in Bangladesh in the 1970s, in the aftermath of the country’s war of independence, when Muhammad Yunus, an economics professor at the University of Chittagong, began an experimental research project providing credit to the rural poor of Bangladesh. That experiment driven by a strong sense of developmental idealism developed into what is now the world’s most famous microfinance institution, the Grameen Bank, and institutions that replicate its pioneering methodology worldwide.
Citation
Weiss, John; Montgomery, Heather. 2004. Great Expectations: Microfinance and Poverty Reduction in Asia and Latin America. © Asian Development Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/3603. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.Keywords
Economic Development
Economic Infrastructure
Economic Policies
Regional Economic Development
Microfinance Programs
Public Finance
Local Financing
Financial Stability
Financial Sector Regulation
Enterprises
Financial aid
Economies in transition
Local Finance
Local Government
Insurance Companies
Banks
Social Equity
Social responsibility of business
Accounting
Personal budgets
Cost and standard of living
Bank accounts
Credit control
Regulatory reform
Banks and banking
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http://hdl.handle.net/11540/3603Metadata
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