The ills of microfinance
The conventional wisdom of according an unquestionable role to microfinance in poverty alleviation has recently been challenged partly because there is no strong empirical evidence to establish this simplistic claim.…
Microfinance crisis
PAKISTAN’S microfinance sector faces a looming crisis unlike anything it has experienced before. The Covid-19 pandemic threatens the livelihoods of microenterprises, critical sources of income for poor households in low-income…
Demystifying microfinance
A narrow track towards south-east, almost 17-km from Chakwal leads to a typical Punjabi village of Dheedwal. A large banyan tree and a small pond, a nostalgic scene resisting change,…
Microfinance, not misery
Pointed questions have been asked from the proponents of microfinance ever since the founder of Grameen Bank, Dr Muhammad Yunus, received the Noble Peace Prize. The cynicism and backlash has…
Launching of PMIC: Microfinance – a landmark journey
Microfinance is a real success story for Pakistan. The progress this country has made in just a few years has been incredible. From woefully inadequate access to banking, millions of…
Microfinance promise
Microfinance during the last century was seen as a panacea for poverty alleviation, but since then there has been greater understanding of it as one among a variety of tools…
Misery and microfinance
Just as 2016 was taking its first nascent breaths, news was released about the imminent establishment of the Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company. According to newspaper reports, this new institution would…
Microfinance: towards an inclusive financial sector
Today, one of the key challenges emerging nations face while pursuing economic growth and development is how to counter poverty. Poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that includes, but goes beyond…
Microfinance: towards an inclusive financial sector
Today, one of the key challenges emerging nations face while pursuing economic growth and development is how to counter poverty. Poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that includes, but goes beyond…
Bandwidth and microfinance
Upfront, this article is not about the telecom sector, the internet or the likes, or for that matter on grey traffic; which frankly is one of the biggest mysteries this…
