Development Studies: Microfinance

CGAP is an independent policy and research center dedicated to advancing financial access for the world's poor. It is supported by over 30 development agencies and private foundations who share a common mission to alleviate poverty. Housed at the World Bank, CGAP provides market intelligence, promotes standards, develops innovative solutions and offers advisory services to governments, microfinance providers, donors, and investors.

Critical gaps remain in our knowledge of how to most efficiently deliver microfinance services and how microfinance can best be used as a tool to fight poverty. The Centre for Micro Finance (CMF) was established in 2005 to help fill these gaps. The mission of the Centre is to improve the accessibility and quality of financial services for the poor through rigorous research, knowledge dissemination and evidence-based policy for MFIs.

Grameen Bank (Bangladesh)

The origin of Grameen Bank can be traced back to 1976 when Professor Muhammad Yunus, Head of the Rural Economics Program at the University of Chittagong, launched an action research project to examine the possibility of designing a credit delivery system to provide banking services targeted at the rural poor. Grameen means "rural" or "village" in Bangla language.

K-Rep Bank provides financial services to all because it believes that this is a basic human right that every Kenyan, especially the low-income, small and micro entrepreneurs must have access to. It further believes that the access to this service is an essential ingredient for eradicating poverty developing this country. The Bank therefore aims at bringing the Micro Finance to the centre of the banking sector arena, as opposed to the peripheral financial activity it has hitherto been perceived to be.

Kiva a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

MicroPlace’s mission is to help alleviate global poverty by enabling everyday people to make investments in the world’s working poor. Our idea is simple. Microfinance institutions around the world have discovered an effective way to help the world’s working poor lift themselves out of poverty. These organizations need capital to expand and reach more of the working poor. At the same time, millions of everyday people here in the United States are looking for ways to make investments that yield a financial return while making a positive impact on the world. MicroPlace simply connects investors with microfinance institutions looking for funds.

The MIX MARKET is a global, web-based, microfinance information platform. It provides information to sector actors and the public at large on microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide, public and private funds that invest in microfinance, MFI networks, raters/external evaluators, advisory firms, and governmental and regulatory agencies. The MIX Market seeks to develop a transparent information market to link MFIs worldwide with Investors and Donors and promote greater investment and information flows. Extensive data on microfinance available.

PoverUP is a microfinance investment and research platform created to channel untapped student drive in the social arena. PoverUP is the first socially-minded student network to provide students with a forum to LEARN. CONNECT. INVEST in sustainable business solutions to alleviate poverty.