Richard Rosenberg

Richard Rosenberg is a former senior advisor on policy issues and research at CGAP and has written or contributed to numerous CGAP publications. His areas of focus include interest rate issues, over-indebtedness, and regulation of microfinance.

His experience with microfinance spans 20 years and two dozen countries. Before joining CGAP, Rosenberg was deputy director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Center for Economic Growth and spent nine years in Latin America, managing investment promotion, privatization, pension reform, and development finance activities. He has taught in the Boulder Institute of Microfinance program since its inception. He holds a law degree from Harvard University.

By Richard Rosenberg

Research

Are Microcredit Interest Rates Excessive?

Over the past two decades, institutions that make microloans to low-income borrowers in developing and transition economies have focused increasingly on making their operations financially sustainable by charging interest rates that are high enough to cover all their costs.
Blog

How Sustainable is Microfinance, Really?

Lots of MFIs are now drawing billions (really!) in investment from microfinance investment funds that are dominated, not by development agencies, but by investors who are not willing to accept anything below a fully commercial risk-return profile.
Research

Variations in Microcredit Interest Rates

This Brief provides examples that show that the reasons for differences in interest rates can be manifold and often tend to be highly country specific.
Research

Are We Overestimating Demand for Microloans?

This Brief discusses the various issues that should be considered when estimating demand for microloans. Although numerous attempts have been made to answer this question, it is difficult to come up with a reliable answer.
Research

Sustainability of Self-Help Groups in India: Two Analyses

This Occasional Paper reports on two separate studies of SHG programs. Part I looks primarily at the financial viability of SHG programs. Part II proposes a methodology for designing SHG programs to ensure their sustainability.