Financing Microfinance: Exploring the Funding Side of Microfinance Institutions

This paper aims to reveal some basic trends in the financing of microfinance institutions where it comes from and how it changes over time. The paper does not claim to be a comprehensive review of this topic; nevertheless, it offers some new information and points to some unexplored patterns.

The paper also identifies and examines key emerging issues that face the increasing number of transformed microfinance institutions, including access to capital markets, greater reliance on foreign currency liabilities and the search for additional equity. Essentially, the paper represents an effort on the part of the Inter-American Development Bank to understand the direction and future funding needs of the microfinance industry.

[From the author]