Library

Community-Based Microfinance

Recommended readings:

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

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.
• 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.
• MicroSave alleviates poverty through providing support to businesses that provide financial inclusion and other socio-economic development services and products.
• MIX Market, global information exchange for the microfinance industry.
• 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).
• Virtual Library on Microcredit, this site has a variety of documents, summaries and research papers.
• World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is the World Bank's official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.

Microfinance Reading and Tools:

• Ardic, O. P., Heimann, M. & Mylenko, N. (2011). Access to financial services and the financial inclusion agenda around the world: A cross-country analysis with a new data set. (Policy research working paper 5537). Washington, DC: World Bank. (866K pdf)
• 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.
• Ashe, J. (2012). Learning savings groups principles. [Draft]. (219K pdf)
• van Bastelaer, T. (1999). Imperfect information, social capital, and the poor's access to credit. (IRIS Center Working Paper No. 234). College Park, MD: Center on Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS), University of Maryland. (81K pdf)
• Branch, B. & Grace, D. (2008). Technical guide: Credit union regulation and supervision. Madison, WI: WOCCU. (4.58 Mb pdf)
• Brand, M. (1998). New product development for microfinance: Design, testing and launch (Technical Note Number 2). Bethesda, MD: Microenterprise Best Practices. (410K pdf)
• Brown, W. & Churchill, C. (2000). Insurance provision in low-income communities: Part II: Initial lessons from micro-insurance experiments for the poor. Bethesda, MD: Microenterprise Best Practices. (484K pdf)
• Burjorjee, D., Deshpande, R. & Weidemann, C.J. (2002). Supporting women's livelihoods: Microfinance that works for the majority. New York: UNCDF. 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. Washington, DC: CGAP.  (341K pdf)
• Chambers, R. & Conway, G. R. (1991). Sustainable rural livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st century. (IDS discussion paper 296). Brighton: IDS. (186K pdf)
• Chao-Béroff, R. (1999). The constraints and challenges associated with developing sustainable microfinance systems in disadvantaged rural areas in Africa. New York: UNCDF. (158K pdf)
• Cohen, M. & Sebstad, J. (2003). Financial education for the poor. (Working paper 1). Washington, DC: Microfinance Opportunities. (218K pdf)
• Cracknell, D. & Sempangi, H. (2003). Product costing: The experience of Micro-Save Africa. Small Enterprise Development, 14(3), 22-34. (STFX only)
• Cuevas, C. E. & Fisher, K. P. (2006). Cooperative financial institutions: Issues in governance, regulation, and supervision. (World Bank working paper no. 82). Washington, DC: World Bank.
• EDA Rural Systems & APMAS. (2006). Self help groups in India: The light and shades of SHGs. Gurgaon, India: EDA Rural Systems. (376K pdf)
• Elser, L., Hannig, A., & Wisniwski, S. (1999). Comparative analysis of savings mobilization strategies. Eschborn: CGAP. (74K pdf)
• Evans, A.C. & Branch, B. (2002). A technical guide to PEARLS: A performance monitoring system. Madison, WI: WOCCU. (1.79 Mb pdf)
• Hammond, A. L., Kramer, W. J., Katz, R. S., Tran, J. T. & Walker, C. (2008). The next 4 billion: Characterizing BoP markets. Washington, DC: World Bank.
• Helms, B. (2006). Access for all: Building inclusive financial systems. Washington, DC: World Bank.
• Honohan, P. (2008). Finance in Africa: A diagnosis. Prepared for IMF seminar "African Finance for the 21st Century", Tunis, Tunisia, March 4-5. (103K pdf)
• Jack, M. & Morris, I. (2005). The community led infrastructure finance facility (CLIFF). Article written for the International Association of Local and Regional Development Funds in Emerging Markets. (164K pdf)
• Ledgerwood, J., Earne, J. & Nelson, C. (Eds.). (2013). The new microfinance handbook: A financial market system perspective. Washington, DC: World Bank.
• 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)
• McCord, M. J., Qureshi, Z., Patel, S. & Wohlner, E. (2003). Preliminary donor guidelines for supporting microinsurance. Washington, DC: CGAP. (730K pdf)
• McCord, M. J., Wright, G. A. N. & Cracknell, D. (2003). A toolkit for planning, conducting and monitoring pilot tests: Loan products. Nairobi: MicroSave. (1.05 Mb pdf)
• Miller, C. & Jones, L. (2010). Agricultural value chain finance: Tools and lessons. Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action. (3.50 Mb 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)
• Nagarajan, G. & Meyer, R. L. (2005). Rural finance: Recent advances and emerging lessons, debates, and opportunities. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University. (385K pdf)
• Osner, K. (2004). Using exposure methodology for dialogue on key issues. In M. Chen, et al., (Eds.), 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. (609K 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, New York. (393K pdf)
• Parikh, T., Sasikumar, K., & Olaganathan, S. (2006). Promoting quality bookkeeping in self-help groups: The Mahakalasm management information system. T. Sheldon & J. Hansel, eds. Washington, DC: SEEP Network. (323K pdf)
• Pearce, D. & Helms, B. (2001). Financial services associations: The story so far. Washington, DC: CGAP. (267K pdf)
• Rippey, P. (2010). More! Better! Cheaper! Savings groups as commodities. In K. Wilson, M. Harper & M. Griffith (Eds.), Financial promise for the poor: How groups build microsavings, (pp. 199-206). Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press. (36K pdf)
• Robinson, M. S. (2001). The microfinance revolution: Sustainable finance for the poor. Washington, DC: World Bank. (2.57 Mb pdf)
• Roth, J., McCord, M. J. & Liber, D. (2007). The landscape of microinsurance in the world's 100 poorest countries. Appleton, WI: MicroInsurance Centre. (3.15 Mb pdf)
• Rutherford, S. (2001). The poor and their money. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Draft version (279K pdf)
  • Library has hard copy: 332.2 R993p.
• Rutherford, S. (2002). Money talks: conversations with poor households in Bangladesh about managing money. (Finance and Development Research Programme Working Paper No. 45). Manchester: IDPM. (242K 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)
• Seibel, H. D. (2003). History matters in microfinance. (Working paper no. 5). Cologne, Germany: University of Cologne. (135K pdf)
• Simanowitz, A., Nkuna, B., & Kasim, S. (2000). Overcoming the obstacles of identifying the poorest families. Washington, DC: Microcredit Summit Campaign. (372K pdf)
• 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)
• Valley Research Group & Mayoux, L. (2008). Women ending poverty: The WORTH program in Nepal - empowerment through literacy, banking and business, 1999-2007. Kathmandu: Valley Research Group. (2.04 Mb pdf)
• Wambugu, A. & Lee, N. (2008). Developing decentralised financial services: Project review. Nairobi: FSD Kenya. (1.5 Mb pdf)
• Woller, G. (2008). Social Performance Map. Arlington, VA: SEEP.
  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.
• Wright. G. (2003). Client-responsive product development. Small Enterprise Development, 14(3), pp. 12-21. (STFX only)