...Success of Microfinance in Bangladesh: Its Determinants, Impacts & Challenges Chapter- One Introduction 1.1 Introduction: In recent years, microcredit, in its wider dimension known as microfinance, has become a much favored intervention for poverty alleviation in the developing countries and least development countries. There is scarcely a poor country and development oriented donor agency (multilateral, bilateral and private) not involved in the promotion (in one form or other) of a microfinance program. Microfinance programs claim many achievements as its impact and an outside observer cannot but wonder at the range of diversity of the benefits claimed. Although Bangladesh has huge potential for development, it is, for various socio-economic reasons, among the poorest countries in the world. About half of the country's population lives below the poverty line with 80% in the rural areas. The burden of poverty falls disproportionately on women, who constitute half of the total population. Logically, therefore, poverty alleviation and creation of rural employment are top priorities in the development agenda of the government of Bangladesh (GOB) which has adopted a broad based approach to poverty alleviation, emphasizing macroeconomic stability, economic liberalization, and support for a number of government agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs). Substantial progress has been made in implementing the microcredit program (MCP), and the scope for its efficient...
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...Case study Bangladesh: Financial Linkages in Bangladesh Abdul Awal, Director, CDF Abstract: Microfinance in Bangladesh has almost reached the stage of a matured market. However, there are still substantial segments of potential clientele who are not serviced by any microfinance organization (MFI). Inadequate finance is one of the most important reasons MFIs have not reach these clients. Fund shortage is more prevalent among the smaller MFIs. Moreover, due to the scaling up of microenterprises of the existing clients, they are requiring larger loan amounts. On the other hand, though the formal financial organizations are burdened with significant amounts of excess liquidity, they are not in a position to directly provide services to microcredit clients - it is not viable. Even funding operations of smaller MFIs directly, are out of their reach. In such a situation, an effective linkage between the MFIs with financial constraint and banks with excess liquidity is a simple but highly effective solution. Introduction Poverty has always been on the development agenda in Bangladesh. In the history of this country, poverty has been rampant and presently Bangladesh is third in terms of number of poor following India and China. It is a densely populated country of only 150,000 square kilometers and a population of around 140 million. The country consists mainly of a flat delta plain. In addition to its very high population density, the country has a limited natural resource base and is...
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...Islamic Economic Studies Vol.9, No. 2, March 2002 FINANCING MICROENTERPRISES: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS HABIB AHMED ∗ While conventional microfinance institutions (MFIs) have expanded their operations in the last two decades, poverty-focused MFIs based on Islamic principles are lagging behind. This paper provides the theoretical basis, operational framework, and empirical support for the establishment of Islamic MFIs. After critically evaluating the conventional MFIs, an Islamic alternative is presented. The theoretical part of the paper shows that there is a great potentiality of Islamic MFIs that can cater for the needs of the poor. Islamic MFIs have some inherent characteristics that can mitigate some of the problems faced by conventional MFIs. Empirical evidence from three Islamic MFIs operating in Bangladesh, in general, supports some of the theoretical assertions. The case studies, however, reveal that Islamic MFIs have not yet tapped some of the sources of funds, nor have they used the variety of financial instruments in their operations. 1 ?. INTRODUCTION With the failure of experimenting in top-down (trickle down) development policies for a few decades to alleviate poverty in most developing countries, financing microenterprises is considered a “new paradigm” for bringing about development and eradicating absolute poverty. 1 Though the importance of developing small-scale enterprises has been discussed for a long time, the innovative...
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...State of Microfinance in Bangladesh Prepared for Institute of Microfinance (InM) As part of the project on State of Microfinance in SAARC Countries By Dewan A. H. Alamgir 2009 Disclaimer Any opinions expressed and policy suggestions proposed in the document are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Institute of Microfinance (InM). The report also does not represent the official stand of the Government of the countries studied. 2 | State of Microfinance in Bangladesh List of Acronyms ADB ASA BBS BDT BEES BIDS BKB BMDA BRAC BRDB BSBL CARB CBO CBN CDF CFPR CIDA COSOP CPD DANIDA DFID DOL DOF EC FSP FSS FY GB GDP GOB HCP HIES IBBL IFAD IGA IGVGD InM JC LGED ME MFMSP Asian Development Bank Bangladeshi NGO (formerly Association for Social Advancement) Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Bangladesh Taka Bangladesh Extension Education Services Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Bangladesh Krishi Bank Barind Multi-Purpose Development Authority Building Resources Across Communities (Largest NGO) [Formerly Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee] Bangladesh Rural Development Board Bangladesh Sanchya Bank Limited Center for Agricultural Research-Barind (a Bangladeshi MFI) Community Based Organization Cost-of-basic-needs Credit and Development Forum Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction Programme Canadian International Development Agency Country Strategic Opportunities Paper (of IFAD) Centre for Policy Dialogue Danish International...
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...1.1 Background of the study 5 1.2 Necessity of Microfinance to people 6 1.3 Statement of the Problem 7 1.4 Rationale of the Study 7 1.5 Objectives 8 1.6 Methodology 8 1.7 Limitation of the study 9 chapter two: Literature Review 10 2.1 Micro-Finance 10 2.2 Microfinance and microcredit 10 2.3 The History of Microfinance 11 2.4 Providers and models of microfinance interventions 11 2.5 Microfinance and its impact in development 14 2.6 The impact of microfinance on poverty 16 2.7 Current debates on the impact of microfinance in development 18 2.8 Empowering Women 23 2.9 Impacts beyond the household 26 2.10 The use of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework in impact measurement 27 2.11 Current debates about MFIs and their role in development 29 Chapter Three: A Glimpse of The Microfinance Sector in Bangladesh 33 3.1 Micro-Finance’s History and Development 33 3.2 Evolution of MFIs financing sources 34 Chapter four: Data Analysis and Interpretation 37 4.1 Hypothesis & Model 37 4.2 Respondents Information (Frequencies & Cross-Tabs) 38 4.3 Results of the Regression Analysis for Hypothesis One 43 4.4 Results of the Regression Analysis for Hypothesis Two 45 Chapter five: Findings And Conclusions 47 5.1 Findings 47 5.2 Scope for Further Research 48 5.3 Conclusion 48 References 50 Appendix - A 52 Appendix - B 55 List of Figures Figure 1:Conceptual Model of the Study 37 Figure 2: Loan reserve...
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...nanceGender and rural microfinance: Reaching and empowering women Guide for practitioners Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty This paper was prepared by Linda Mayoux and Maria Hartl. Linda Mayoux is an international consultant on gender issues in economic development including microfinance. She is currently global consultant for Oxfam Novib’s Women’s Empowerment, Mainstreaming and Networking (WEMAN) programme. Mayoux prepared this paper in collaboration with Maria Hartl, Technical Adviser for Gender and Social Equity in IFAD’s Technical Advisory Division. Annina Lubbock, Senior Technical Adviser for Gender and Poverty Targeting, Michael Hamp, Senior Technical Adviser for Rural Finance. Ambra Gallina, Gender and Poverty Targeting Consultant, also contributed. The following people reviewed the content: Maria Pagura (Rural Finance Officer, Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Carola Saba (Development Manager, Women’s World Banking) and Margaret Miller (Senior Microfinance Specialist, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor – CGAP). The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IFAD concerning the legal status of any...
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...CONCLUSION 16 BIBLIOGRAPHY 17 Figure 1 8 Figure 2 10 Figure 3 10 Figure 4 13 Table 1 7 Table 2 7 Table 3 9 Table 4 10 Table 5 13 INTRODUCTION Development Finance is the offering of financial services to the entrepreneurial poor that contributes finally to the economic growth. Although the most notable of these services is the provision of credit, many other offerings are a part of Development Finance including credit for business activities and credit for emergency and for the fulfillment of life cycle needs. Many Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) give finance for to the persons that contribute to the development of economy. For this purpose these DFIs facilitates poor for savings and deposits and a source of funding which is crucial for DFIs to promote their sustainability, decrease their dependence on donor money, and strengthen their resilience. While Development Finance Institutions were originally conceived to target the entrepreneurs that have...
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...BALANCED SCORECARD APPLICATION IN LENDING/MICROFINANCING INSTITUTIONS: A STRATEGIC MAP IMPLEMENTATION IN THE PHILIPPINES CONTEXT This paper studies the application of Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a powerful measurement and assessment system, in lending/micro financing institutions. Adopting the balanced scorecard (BSC) model, this exploratory study investigates the critical performance measures that lending/micro-financing institutions in the Philippines need to emphasize in their performance reporting to drive high performance. The proposed model can assist the lending institutions in assessing organizational performance, making it highly applicable for managers. Reviewing the existing literature, the paper also provides an implementation guide for BSC in the Philippines perspective. Eventually, the performance indicators for measurement purposes of the introduced case study are proposed. Keywords: Lending/ Micro financing Institutions, MFIs, Financial Services, Balanced Scorecard, BSC, Organizational Performance Assessment, performance reporting, Philippines. 1. Introduction In many developing countries, microfinance plays a vital role in providing the poor (i.e. micro-entrepreneurs, small farmers, fishermen) with access to credit and helping them improve their lives by encouraging entrepreneurial activity (Arch, 2005; Bhatt & Tang, 2011; Khandker, 1996; Llanto, 2004). It has also proven to be “a potent tool for poverty reduction by helping the poor...
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...CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Many people in developing countries neither have their own bank accounts nor are they able to take out loans, transfer money or insure their families against risks such as illness, accident or death. In most cases, access to these financial services that are so central to sustainable development are either denied or made very difficult. Consequently, people frequently have no choice but to resort to local moneylenders who charge usurious rates of interest or use informal and, therefore, insecure ways of performing transactions such as payments and money transfer. The above is reflected in the quotation by the past Secretary-General of the United Nations: ‘‘The stark reality is that most people in the world still lack access to sustainable financial services, whether it is savings, credit or insurance. The great challenge before us is to address the constraints that exclude people from full participation in the financial sector. Together, we can and must build inclusive financial sectors that help people improve their lives (United Nations, 1997).’’ With almost thirty per cent of the country's population living in poverty, the Government of Ghana clearly faces an enormous challenge to reduce poverty especially in the three northern savannah regions where there is the greatest concentration of poor people. To achieve rapid and sustainable reduction in poverty, it is necessary to have an integrated policy with the various...
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...Introduction The Small and Medium scale Enterprise (SME) are recognized worldwide as engines of economic growth. The commonly perceived merits often emphasized for their promotion especially in the developing countries like Bangladesh include their relatively high labor intensity, dependence on indigenous skills and technology, contributions to entrepreneurship development and innovativeness and growth of industrial linkages. The case for fostering SME growth in Bangladesh is irrefutable as these industries offer bright prospects for creating large-scale employment and income earning opportunities at relatively low cost for the unemployed especially in the rural areas strengthening the efforts towards achieving high and sustained economic growth which are critically important prerequisites for triggering an exit from endemic poverty and socio-economic deprivation. These promotional arguments for the SMEs, while universally emphasized are often put forward by their ardent advocates in a small versus large context and thus arouse serious debates concerning their economic viability. Much of such controversies may, however breakdown if the intrinsic virtues specific to SMEs and unavailable to large-scale industries are correctly identified and carefully exploited. A combined interaction of the forces of product-mix, location factors, technological advantages and market advantages create opportunities for SMEs to grow and prosper at all levels of development which are often ignored...
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...Sustainable Microentrepreneurship: The Roles of Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in Reducing Poverty in Developing Countries GUY VINCENT CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. THE RELATIONASHIPS BETWEEN MICROFINANCE, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY IN REDUCING POVERTY IN LDCS 2.1. THE ROLE OF MICROFINANCE IN REDUCING POVERTY IN LDCS 2.2. THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN REDUCING POVERTY IN LDCS 2.3. THE ROLE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN REDUCING POVERTY IN LDCS 3. SUCCESSFUL CASE STUDIES OF MICROFINANCE, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MICROFINANCE IN REDUCING POVERTY IN LDCS 4. EFFECTS OF SUSTAINABLE MICROENTREPRENUERSHIP ON LDCS 5. CONCLUSION 6. REFERENCES 1. INTRODUCTION About 90 percent of the people in developing countries lack access to financial services from institutions, either for credit or savings1, which further fuels the “Vicious Cycle of Poverty” (refer to Fig. 1). If the people of LDCs have a limited capacity to invest in capital, productivity is restricted, incomes are inhibited, domestic savings remain low, and again, any increases in productivity are prevented. A lack of access to financial institutions also hinders the ability for entrepreneurs in LDCs to engage in new business ventures, inhibiting economic growth, and often, the sources and consequences of entrepreneurial activities are neither financially nor environmentally sustainable (existing for continuing future use). Microfinance serves as a means to empower the poor, and provides a...
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...Microfinance From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve this article to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. The talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2010) Community-based savings bank in Cambodia. There are a rich variety of financial institutions which serve the poor. Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services. More broadly, it is a movement whose object is "a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers."[1] Those who promote microfinance generally believe that such access will help poor people out of poverty. Microfinance is a broad category of services, which includes microcredit. Microcredit is provision of credit services to poor clients. Although microcredit is one of the aspects of microfinance, conflation of the two terms is endemic in public discourse. Critics often attack microcredit while referring to it indiscriminately as either 'microcredit' or 'microfinance'. Due to the broad range of microfinance services, it is difficult to assess impact, and very few...
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...of Real Estate and Construction Management Real Estate Management Thesis no. 91 Master of Science, 30 credits How to apply microfinance activities in the developed world - a case study in New York City Author: Sofia Bredberg Sara Ek Stockholm 2011 Supervisor: Han-Suck Song Master of Science thesis Title How to apply microfinance activities in the developed world – a case study in New York City Sofia Bredbeg & Sara Ek Real Estate and Construction Management Han-Suck Song Microfinance, poverty alleviation, financial sustainability, developed world, microfinance programs, empowerment, Grameen America, Acción USA, Project Enterprise Authors Department Master Thesis number Supervisor Keywords Abstract This study strives to examine how microfinance activities can be successfully applied in the developed world. This is done through a field study in New York City. Throughout interviews and observations with three of the largest actors in New York: Acción USA, Grameen America and Project Enterprise, as well as interviews with their clients, the lending processes and key characteristics of the organizations have been mapped. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been interviewed on the general opinion of microfinance in the US. Previous theory elaborates on some of the major challenges with implementing microfinance activities in the developed world, such as lack of funding and cultural differences hindering the lending processes to be carried...
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...guidance which has helped me preparing this assignment properly. I express my sincere gratitude to Honorable Executive Director A K Arzoo and other officials of Jagorani Chakra Foundation (JCF) for helping me providing information’s whenever we asked for it. Without their kind co-operation in all respect it would not been possible for me to prepare this assignment. CONTENTS Sl.No. 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15 16 17 18 19 Introduction Objectives of the study Methodology of the study Theoretical discussion Concept of NGOs Historical background of NOGs in Bangladesh Types of NGOs Functional coverage of NGOs Role of NGOs behind the rural development Advantages and disadvantages Findings Jagorani chakra foundation (JCF) Objectives Working area Programs Programs related rural development Exceptional and successes of JCF Achievements of JCF Concluding remark Subject Page 02 02 02 03 03 04 05 06 08 09 10 10 11 12 13 15 15 16 17 1 INTRODUCTION: Bangladesh has a strong tradition of private philanthropic initiatives for humanistic and voluntary works for people’s welfare. Many schools, colleges, hospitals and other voluntary initiatives for public service have their origin in the philanthropic values of caring and sharing. It is with the same spirit of caring and sharing that after the Liberation War in 1971 many dedicated individuals took initiatives for people’s...
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...org/wiki/Microfinance Microfinance [hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (January 2010) Microfinance is a source of financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses lacking access to banking and related services. The two main mechanisms for the delivery of financial services to such clients are: (1) relationship-based banking for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses; and (2) group-based models, where several entrepreneurs come together to apply for loans and other services as a group. In some regions, for example Southern Africa , microfinance is used to describe the supply of financial services to low-income employees, which is closer to the retail finance model prevalent in mainstream banking. Community-based savings bank in Cambodia. There are a rich variety of financial institutions which serve micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses. For some, microfinance is a movement whose object is "a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers."[1] Many of those who promote microfinance generally believe that such access will help poor people out of poverty, including participants in the Microcredit Summit Campaign. For others, microfinance is a way...
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