While many banks and microfinance institutions provide valuable services to the poor in the developing world, they are most successful in economically dynamic urban or peri-urban areas. 30 years since the start of the microfinance revolution, poor people who live in many rural areas and urban slums still find it difficult to access appropriate microfinance products, even in countries with a well developed microfinance sector. Village Savings and Loan Associations based in the community are complementary to MFIs tending to serve the very poor whose income is less reliable, but also offering useful services to the economically secure. This manual provides a concise guide to how to set up and run a village savings and loan association and is based on over 15 years of research and development experience.

* Balanced assessment of recent savings-led programs in microfinance * Contributors include wide range of scholars and practitioners The entry of the private sector into financial services for the poor is a relatively new development, but already the glossy promises of credit-led microfinance are facing scrutiny from the development community. Policymakers and economists have begun picking through the hype of microfinance to identify where and how top-down loans might fit into broader human development efforts. To many, the answer involves shifting focus to another financial service: savings. Serving as a strong and perhaps more effective tool than microcredit, microsavings is quickly becoming a lauded poverty-alleviation tool. Contributors to Financial Promise for the Poor cover current innovations in microsavings happening around the world. They describe how savings group members in the developing world are avoiding many of the financial liabilities and debt of other microfinance programs while gaining skills and finding opportunities in collective enterprise. The turn from credit to savings speaks to the growing empowerment of individuals and communities as they break the bonds of indebtedness and find their own paths to financial security.

An exploration of how altruism affects us, what are the markers for success, and how to avoid the pitfalls—with scrupulous research and on-the-ground reporting from the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists and bestselling authors of Half a Sky and Tightrope Kristof and WuDunn will inspire you to "change lives for the better, including your own (The New York Times Book Review). In their recounting of astonishing stories from the front lines of social progress, we see the compelling, inspiring truth of how real people have changed the world, underscoring that one person can make a difference. A Path Appears offers practical, results-driven advice on how best each of us can give and reveals the lasting benefits we gain in return. Kristof and WuDunn know better than most how many urgent challenges communities around the world face to­day. Here they offer a timely beacon of hope for our collective future.

The reasons for this success are obvious.

The purpose of the 'Microfinance Handbook' is to bring together in a single source guiding principles and tools that will promote sustainable microfinance and create viable institutions.

Forest landscapes are inhabited by approximately 1.5 billion people. The aggregate gross annual value of these smallholder producers approaches US$1.3 trillion. Adding value to that production, through financial investment, will be key to delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, access to finance is an important issue. The Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) commissioned this scoping paper to assess what might be done to improve access to finance. Organisation of forest and farm producers allows finance to be channelled toward valueadded investments. But the motivation to form forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) varies with context, from the desire to secure resource rights for Indigenous peoples in the forest core, to the desire to strengthen economic scale efficiencies in periurban forest product processing industries. The scale and type of finance needs vary and span enabling investments (grants or concessional loans)through to asset investments (market-rate capital that requires a return). Access to finance for FFPOs requires tailored approaches. For FFPOs, enabling investments in four key areas are needed to create the conditions and necessary track record to attract asset investment: (i) secure commercial rights; (ii) strong organisation for scale; (iii) appropriate technical extension; and (iv) fair market access and business incubation. Enabling investments of this sort make FFPO businesses bankable and affords them access to finance.

In two volumes these books review and expand the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs. Volume 1 provides detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in this field. Volume 2 presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries. The work assesses the success of this policy and provides some startling conclusions. This is essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance.