Around the world, a revolution is occurring in finance for low-income people. The microfinance revolution is delivering financial services to the economically active poor on a large scale through competing, financially self-sufficient institutions. In a few countries this has already happened; in others it is under way. The emerging microfinance industry has profound implications for social and economic development. For the first time in history, capital is well on its way to being democratized. 'The Microfinance Revolution', in three volumes, is aimed at a diverse readership - economists, bankers, policymakers, donors, and social scientists; microfinance practitioners and specialists in local finance and rural and urban development; and members of the general public interested in development. This first volume, 'Sustainable Finance for the Poor', focuses on the shift from government- and donor-subsidized credit systems to self-sufficient microfinance institutions providing voluntary savings and credit services.

The revolution occurring in finance for low-income people refers to commercial microfinance--the delivery of financial services to the economically active poor on a large scale through competing, financially self-sufficient institutions. 'Lessons from Indonesia', volume 2 of 'The Microfinance Revolution', examines in the Indonesian context the principles and practices of commercial microfinance that were explored and analyzed in volume 1. The first country to develop profitable microfinance on a large scale, Indonesia is home to the world's oldest and largest commercial microfinance institutions, as well as many others. The book examines many financial institutions, with a special emphasis on Bank Rakyat Indonesia's microbanking system, which in the mid-1980s was transformed from a failed subsidized credit program to a nationwide commercial financial intermediary that now profitably provides microfinance services--savings and credit--to more than 20 million people. Commercial microbanking remained stable and profitable in Indonesia even as the country's financial system collapsed during the recent crisis. This volume shows why, and offers crucial lessons for developing countries everywhere.

??? ... Microfinance is the method whereby financial services and credit is made available to the economically active but low income people of developiong countries. This book focusses on three key aspects of the phenomenon: 1) the shift from government- and donor-subsidized credit delivery systems to self-sufficient, sustainable microfinance institutions; 2) the results on the ground, on the way in which microfinance is helps people expand and diversify their enterprises, increase their incomes, raise their living standards and those of theri families, and boost their self-confidence; 3) the theroretical frameworks that had previously impeded the microfinance revolution, with suggestions for their improvement.

A major source of financing for the poor and no longer a niche industry Over the past four decades, microfinance—the provision of loans, savings, and insurance to small businesses and entrepreneurs shut out of traditional capital markets—has grown from a niche service in Bangladesh and a few other countries to a significant global source of financing. Some 200 million people globally now receive support from microfinance institutions, with most of the recipients in the developing world. In the beginning, much of the microfinance industry was managed by non-governmental organizations, but today the majority of these institutions are commercial and regulated by governments, and they provide safe places for the poor to save, as well as offering much-needed capital and other financial services. Now out of infancy, the microfinance industry faces major challenges, including its ability to deal with mobile banking and other technology and concerns that some markets are now over-saturated with microfinance. How the industry deals with these and other challenges will determine whether it will continue to grow or will be subsumed within the larger global financial sector. This book is based on the results of a workshop at Lehigh University among thirty-four leaders in the industry. The editors, working with contributions from more than a dozen leading authorities in the field, tell the important story of how microfinance developed, how it has met the needs of hundreds of millions of people, and they address key questions about how it can continue to meet those needs in the future.

First published in 1998, this collection of essays by eminent microfinance practitioners provides a range of perspectives on contemporary issues in the field. Different approaches are proposed for achieving improved access by the poor to financial services. The common denominator in these essays is financial sustainability for the service provider. Issues addressed include: is savings mobilization integral to microfinance and, if so, how should it be incorporated in new programs? Are borrower groups a necessary element of successful microfinance programs? Are NGOs the right institutional vehicle for sustainable microfinance interventions? Is standardized and generalizable microfinance credit rating system feasible? While there is considerable diversity in the approaches recommended in these essays, the importance of cost efficiency and cost recovery forms the basis for most of the discussions.