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Cool in Crisis: How Bangladeshi MFIs Stay Resilient

Through flood, drought and famine, Bangladesh's microfinance industry has survived over the decades and continued to serve low-income customers in times of crisis. What has made Bangladeshi microfinance institutions so resilient?

Has Microcredit Empowered Women in Bangladesh? Yes, But Not by Itself

Microfinance has contributed to women’s empowerment, but to understand the impact you have to look beyond where many observers have assumed they would find it.

Opening Pandora’s Box: Revisiting the Impact of Small Business Finance

The debate over the impact of small business finance is far from settled. Here are four gaps in the evidence base that should be filled to move the debate forward.

After the Storm: How Microfinance Can Adapt and Thrive

There has been a need for traditional microfinance to face the challenge presented by digital technology for some time. COVID has simply accelerated this process.

Microfinance and COVID-19: Is Insolvency on the Horizon?

Global survey data shows a sharp increase in nonperforming and restructured microfinance loans during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, but strong capitalization among most MFIs mitigates the risk of insolvency.

Four Ways Microfinance Institutions Are Responding to COVID-19

How are microfinance institutions responding to COVID-19? To what extent are they offering leniency to clients? Have they been forced to lay off staff or close branches? CGAP's pulse survey of microfinance institutions sheds light on these questions.

Is There a Liquidity Crisis Among MFIs, and if so, Where?

Are microfinance institutions facing a liquidity crisis as a result of COVID-19? The CGAP Pulse Survey of Microfinance Institutions sheds new light on this question.

Survey Shows Gathering Clouds, but No Storm (Yet) for Microfinance

How is COVID-19 impacting the portfolios of microfinance institutions (MFIs)? Are MFIs facing a liquidity crisis? Is the solvency of institutions at risk? CGAP's global, monthly survey began two weeks ago, and answers are beginning to emerge.

Smart Phones, Smart Partners: Linking Asset Finance and Microfinance

One company offers microcredit. The other offers PAYGo financing for smartphones, tablets and solar home systems. In what may be a template for other microfinance institutions, they are helping each other to reach more low-income customers.

From Smartphones to Solar Panels: Are Asset Finance Advances Pro-Poor?

Can asset financing improve the lives of low-income customers? And if so, which assets and financing approaches hold the most promise?

6 Ways Microfinance Institutions Can Adapt to the Digital Age

Microfinance has a relatively good record of serving the poor in a socially responsible way. But it must adapt to continue serving those customers in the digital age, argues CGAP CEO Greta Bull.

Are PAYGo Solar Companies a New Type of Microfinance Institution?

Are PAYgo solar companies a new breed of microfinance institution (MFI)? Many are engaged in a number of MFI-like activities and could benefit from lessons learned in the more mature MFI sector.