Community-Based Microfinance

Recommended readings:

• Reaching the hard to reach: Comparative study of member-owned financial institutions in remote rural areas, edited by Nanci Lee. Published by Coady International Institute, (2008).

Microfinance Organizations and Databases

• Centre for Microfinance (Nepal), national centre supporting information exchange, consulting in microfinance and policy dialogue.
• CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest, a comprehensive database of papers, case studies and manuals.
• CGAP: Donor Information Resource Center (DIRECT), a series of case studies on donor support to microfinance.
• Développement International Desjardins (DID), includes the Canadian Microfinance Gateway.
• ENTERWEB - Microfinance Websites
• Foundation for Development Cooperation, regional centre supporting research, information exchange and consulting for the Asia-Pacific.
• Imp-Act, based at IDS, was an action research program that ended in 2005. It has developed a framework for analyzing social performance including impact and has developed a consortium of partners worldwide. There are many free, short downloadable papers on this site related to social performance.
• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) includes materials on microfinance and food security.
• MicroBanking Bulletin is a newsletter produced by the MicroBanking Standards Project which produces financial results of over 150 microfinance organizations worldwide. Includes regional, methodological comparisons as well as case studies.
• The Microcredit Summit, news and documents related to the annual Microcredit Summit.
• Microfinance: a way to help the poor build assets, papers by Mark Schreiner, on a range of topics.
• Microfinance Gateway, this resource centre contains a collection of information and resources on experiences in regulating and supervising.
• Microfinance Network (MFN), a network of microfinance organizations including profiles and research studies.
• MIX Market, global information exchange for the microfinance industry.
• Paving the way forward for rural finance: An international conference on best practices, a collaboration between World Council of Credit Unions, the University of Wisconsin and USAID. Papers, case studies and policy recommendations for rural finance.
• Planet Finance, online library, training, institutional profiles and ratings.
• Poverty Assessment Tools, project by USAID's Microenterprise Development division in collaboration with the IRIS Center (Microenterprise Advancement Project) of the University of Maryland. Website includes tools, studies and practititioner reviews.
• Enterprise Development and Microfinance, (formerly Small Enterprise Development) is published quarterly by Practical Action Publishing.  The website lists the tables of contents and abstracts of articles published.  (StFX access only).

Microfinance Reading and Tools:

• Ashe, J. & Parrott, L. (2002). PACT's Women's Empowerment Program in Nepal: A savings and literacy led alternative to financial institution building. ESR Review, 4(2), 137-162.
• van Bastelaer, T. (1999). Imperfect information, social capital, and the poor's access to credit. (IRIS Center Working Paper No. 234). University of Maryland: Center on Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS). (81K pdf)
• Burjorjee, D., Deshpande, R. & Weidemann, C.J. (2002). Supporting women's livelihoods: Microfinance that works for the majority, a guide that examines topics including gender considerations, women's roles in microfinance and benefits of microfinance lending. (2.44 Mb pdf)
• CGAP. (2003). Microfinance consensus guidelines: Definitions of selected financial terms, ratios, and adjustments for microfinance.  (344K pdf)
• Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP). (1999). Comparative analysis of savings mobilisation strategies. (74K pdf)
• Cracknell, D. & Sempangi, H. (2003). Product costing: The experience of Micro-Save Africa. Small Enterprise Development, 14(3), 22-34. (STFX only)
• EDA Rural Systems & APMAS. (2006). Self help groups in India: The light and shades of SHGs.  (376K pdf)
• Lee, N. (2000). A gold thread: Building assets and courage with SEWA bank members. Women for Women International, 2(1), pp. 21-26. (3.52 Mb pdf)
• Lee, N. Misra, R., Hamadziripi, A., Jain, A., Rutherford, S., & Cameron, D. (2006). Rural remote microfinance and selfish genes. Paper prepared for the Global Microcredit Summit. (388K pdf)
• Microcredit Summit Campaign. (2002). Overcoming the obstacles of identifying the poorest families. (372K pdf)
• Microenterprise Best Practices. (1998). New product development for microfinance: Design, testing and launch (Technical Note Number 2). Bethesda, MD: M. Brand. (410K pdf)
• Microenterprise Best Practices. (2000). Insurance provision in low-income communities: Part II: Initial lessons from micro-insurance experiments for the poor. Bethesda, MD: W. Brown & C. Churchill. (484K pdf)
• Misra, R.S. (2009, Draft). ITC Choupal Fresh: A case in pro poor value chains. In M. Harper (Ed.), Inclusive value chains in India: Linking the smallest producers to modern markets. (371K pdf)
• Misra, R.S. (2008). Reaching the hard to reach: Global study on member-owned financial institutions (MOIs) in remote rural areas. (Presentation).
• Misra, R.S. & Lee, N. (2007). Primary agriculture society linkage - The best remote self help groups in India can do? Small Enterprise Development, 18(1), 25-36. (STFX only)
• Osner, K. (2004). Using exposure methodology for dialogue on key issues in Reality and analysis: Personal reflections on the working lives of six women. (399K pdf)
• Ouattara, K., Gonzalez-Vega, C. & Graham, D. (1999). Village banks, caisses villageoises, and credit unions: Lessons from client-owned microfinance organizations in West Africa (Economics and Sociology Occasional Paper No. 2523). Columbus, OH: Ohio State University, Rural Finance Program. (432K pdf)
• Parikh, T., Ghosh, K. & Chavan, A. (2003). Design studies for a financial management system for microfinance groups in India. Paper presented at the 2003 Conference on Universal Usability. (393K pdf)
• Promoting quality bookkeeping in self-help groups: The Mahakalasm management information system, Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network's Poverty Outreach Working Group has a free document on book-keeping for self-help groups. (323K pdf)
• Rutherford, S., et al. (1999). Savings and the poor: The methods, use and impact of savings by the poor in East Africa. Nairobi: MicroSave. (222K pdf)
• Rutherford, S. (2001). The poor and their money. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Draft version (279K pdf)
  • Library has hard copy: 332.2 R993p.
• Social Performance Map, SEEP Network (2008). This document provides a summary of the microfinance sector and is intended to equip stakeholders with information to allow them to address the important issues and make informed decisions related to social performance.
• Tankha, A. (2002). Self-help groups as financial intermediaries in India: Cost of promotion, sustainability and impact. Hague, The Netherlands: CORDAID. (1.18 Mb pdf)
• WOCCU. (2002). A technical guide to PEARLS: A performance monitoring system. (1.79 Mb pdf)
• Wright. G. (2003). Client-responsive product development. Small Enterprise Development, 14(3), pp. 12-21. (STFX only)

For information on the distance course, Community-Based Microfinance and Member-Owned Institutions, click here.