2016-04: Regulating innovation in microfinance (Working paper)
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Author(s)
Hunt, Katherine
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2016
Metadata
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Microfinance is a socio-financial innovation which has increased financial inclusion in majority countries for the past three decades. However, changing technology and demographics mean that the future of microfinance depends on innovation by Microfinance Institutions (MFI's) in product design, application processes and financial operation. This paper applies the results from interviews with stakeholders in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to understand how microfinance regulation directly impacts on MFI innovation and thus on the sustainability of financial inclusion in majority countries. We propose that microfinance regulation ...
View more >Microfinance is a socio-financial innovation which has increased financial inclusion in majority countries for the past three decades. However, changing technology and demographics mean that the future of microfinance depends on innovation by Microfinance Institutions (MFI's) in product design, application processes and financial operation. This paper applies the results from interviews with stakeholders in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to understand how microfinance regulation directly impacts on MFI innovation and thus on the sustainability of financial inclusion in majority countries. We propose that microfinance regulation can support long-term financial inclusion via microfinance innovation through allowing MFI's to access: equity partnerships; diversified capital sources; and leverage opportunities derived from the mobile banking revolution for loan repayments. These findings have direct relevance for policy makers, and contribute to the literature regarding the future of financial inclusion.
View less >
View more >Microfinance is a socio-financial innovation which has increased financial inclusion in majority countries for the past three decades. However, changing technology and demographics mean that the future of microfinance depends on innovation by Microfinance Institutions (MFI's) in product design, application processes and financial operation. This paper applies the results from interviews with stakeholders in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to understand how microfinance regulation directly impacts on MFI innovation and thus on the sustainability of financial inclusion in majority countries. We propose that microfinance regulation can support long-term financial inclusion via microfinance innovation through allowing MFI's to access: equity partnerships; diversified capital sources; and leverage opportunities derived from the mobile banking revolution for loan repayments. These findings have direct relevance for policy makers, and contribute to the literature regarding the future of financial inclusion.
View less >
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Copyright © 2010 by author(s). No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form, or stored in a retrieval system, without prior permission of the author(s).
Note
Finance
Subject
G21 - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
Innovation
Policy
Microfinance
Microfinance Innovation
Microfinance Policy