Recent Blogs
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Is 95% a Good Collection Rate?
For most MFIs a collection rate of 95% would be unsustainable: at that level, delinquency will have already spun of control and the institution won’t be around much longer unless drastic action is taken to improve collection quickly.Blog
Why M-PESA Should Offer Savings Accounts
The fact that M-PESA is being used for savings illustrates the latent demand for appropriate savings products in Kenya.Blog
Multiple Borrowing or Multiple Lending and Debt Fatigue
The common thread across locations in which repayment problems have been experienced is that customers are showing signs of fatigue arising from debt.Blog
What You Don’t Know about M-PESA
Using the mobile as a platform, they plan to create developmental services that penetrate other spheres —m-health, agribusiness. They further predicted that the mobile will soon begin to revolutionize these other spaces as well.Blog
All about Where the Curves Meet
The basic challenge in both micro and SME finance is that it costs more in absolute terms to lend a given amount in a number of small loans rather than one big loan, especially when it comes to those household and enterprise loans where approval decisions can’t be based on automatic scoring.Blog
Are Microcredit Interest Rates Excessive?
High microfinance interest rates is a hotly debated topic in a lot of places. Obviously, the answer for a given MFI depends on its particular circumstances.Blog
What Drives MFI Efficiency?
Institutional efficiency is generally measured by dividing operating expenses by the size of the loan portfolio. A given MFI is usually regarded as having become more efficient when this indicator gets lower.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.Blog
New CGAP Paper: Banking through Networks of Retail Agents
This Focus Note considers the issues, challenges, and opportunities of banking through networks of retail agents.Blog
Why Has M-PESA Become So Popular in Kenya?
Despite the cash float problems, the majority of customers in both the urban and rural areas assert that they prefer M-PESA over other money transfer services. This means that M-PESA must be offering them some kind of substantial benefit.Blog