Profit for the Poor

Microcredit is the latest development fashion, and it has even received the ultimate accolade of a world summit It is not generally appreciated, however, that there is a wide variety of quite different approaches to the profitable delivery of financial services to the poor. Such services are being indeed, have for many years been provided by many different types of institution, including traditional commercial banks, NGOs and the much publicized new generation institutions. This book contains a selection of case studies from India, Bangladesh, East and Southern Africa, Indonesia and Latin America, together with many challenging comments and questions. Two points are made: first that there is no universally applicable methodology in the field, and second that well-managed microfinance can be profitable both for its customers and its providers; it is a business opportunity itself for bankers, and need not depend on donor assistance.