Beyond Micro-Credit: Putting Development Back Into
ong>ISong>BN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Fong>isong>her, Thomas / Sriram, M. S. / Harper, Malcolm, PUBLong>ISong>HER: Oxfam, Micro-finance ong>isong> an instrument for development. However, ong>theong> developmental purposes of microfinance are often lost behind ong>theong> dominant focus on ong>theong> technology and management of micro-finance, or on outreach to poor clients. Thong>isong> ong>bookong> challenges ong>theong> microfinance industry to go beyond such a narrow focus, looking at ong>theong> range of development goals for which microfinance can be used. ong>Theong>se include ong>notong> only poverty alleviation through providing savings, credit, and insurance, but also promoting livelihoods, empowering women, building people's organizations, and changing institutions. ong>Theong> ong>bookong> richly illustrates each of ong>theong>se from actual micro-finance practice and explores ong>theong> organizational challenges of combining such development goals with financial service-provong>isong>ion. ong>Theong> ong>bookong> ong>isong> based on ong>theong> great diversity of microfinance practice in India, which has developed numerous innovations, from new products for promoting livelihoods to democratic governance. ong>Theong> ong>bookong> provides ong>theong> most comprehensive analysong>isong> available of Indian innovation and practice in microfinance, including detailed analysong>isong> of ong>theong> "self-help groups" in India, comparong>isong>ons with microfinance in Bangladesh, and ong>theong> latest performance and impact assessment.