Can microfinance institutions (MFIs) achieve financial sustainability and reach the poorest of the poor? What are the tradeoffs in pursuing these two goals simultaneously? These are among the key questions addressed by David Hulme and Paul Mosley in their recent book, Finance Against Poverty (London: Routledge, 1996). The findings of this book have sparked a lot of discussion among microfinance specialists. The objective of this note is to bring these findings to a wider readership. It is not a review of the book and should not be considered as such.
