Publication: Frontier Finance - Microfinance as a Prudent First Intervention in Post-Conflict Countries
Loading...
Date
2008-04
ISSN
Published
2008-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
While there is growing support for microfinance globally, the unmet demand remains enormous, particularly in Africa, and especially in post-conflict and frontier countries. In Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), less than 1 percent of the population has access to a bank account. Yet as these countries continue to stabilize, the demand for secure financial services is exploding. The post-conflict nature of these countries magnifies the need for microfinance services, as micro and small enterprises (MSEs) operating at a subsistence level are often the only surviving businesses after a conflict.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Earne, Julie; Gutin, John; Jagun, Jumoke. 2008. Frontier Finance - Microfinance as a Prudent First Intervention in Post-Conflict Countries. IFC Smart Lessons Brief. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10617 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Taking Advantage of a Window of Opportunity(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)Rwanda’s government and private sector took a bold step towards achieving a critical reform agenda with the design and implementationof a single window for international trade system. This implementation marked the first successful collaboration among Rwanda’s numerous agencies that over see the country’s cross-border trade. Addressing the demands of a diverse group of stakeholders was certainly daunting, but effective stakeholder engagement and change management efforts have produced results that are exerting a major impact on the efficiency of goods into and transiting Rwanda. Driving the Single Window project was an aspiration for greater collaboration at the level of government-to-government, business-to business and government-to-business. Rwanda’s membership in the East African Community, which is a Single Customs Territory was another critical factor. By addressing national needs and incorporating a regional focus and outreach in the management of cargo, the Rwanda Electronic Single Window has achieved success.Publication A Win for the Private Sector(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) launched its standards harmonization project in 2011 to help businesses cut costs associated with the different standards in force across the East African community (EAC). The first phase of the project will come to an end in June 2017. This project stemmed from the importance of standards development for regional integration and has been done through supporting the national bureaus of standards in achieving regional harmonization. Product standards have a significant impact on trade in goods within the EAC while non-harmonized standards continue to interrupt the smooth flow of goods in the region. This smart lessons describe the challenges to the harmonization process and how the project’s successful implementation is boosting trade within the region.Publication Working with Tajikistan to Develop its First National Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activities(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)One of the most important instruments of trade facilitation is the commodity nomenclature, which provides a definition of all goods subject to foreign trade. The correct classification of goods forms the basis for determining the appropriate value of a good and for determining the customs duties imposed on a good on import or export. Customs statistics on foreign trade are derived from it, and those statistics in turn serve as a tool for the determination and implementation of customs policy. Commodity nomenclature is used not only at the national level, but also by the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization, the United Nations, and other international entities. Importers and exporters or investors in other countries visit customs nomenclature websites thousands of times a day to see the types and levels of customs duties and other charges and trade policy measures that particular countries apply. Trade policy regulations, rules of origin, and trade statistics in almost all of the developed and developing countries are designed and compiled on the basis of customs nomenclatures. This SmartLesson discusses how the Central Asia Trade Logistics Project worked with the Customs Administration of the Republic of Tajikistan on the development of its first national commodity nomenclature.Publication PortNet in Morocco(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-01)In 2008, Morocco’s National Ports Agency launched a project to create a national single-window platform for Morocco’s foreign tr ade. The process was long and difficult, and its success is owing in large part to the leadership and focus demonstrated by PORTNET S.A., the company created in 2012 to be in charge of the project. This SmartLesson describes the steps PORTNET took to forge a strategic alliance between public and private stakeholders in Morocco to achieve a common, mutually beneficial aim: streamline Morocco’s foreign trade procedures and improve its business climate.Publication Taking the First Step to Facilitate Trade in Sudan(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)The Republic of Sudan’s seaports used to be known for congestion resulting from the slow processing of imported goods. In response, the government created an ad hoc National Committee on trade facilitation to help streamline the processing of goods coming in and to facilitate trade. This smart lesson describes the steps taken in setting up the National Committee on Trade Facilitation and the challenges involved.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Financing Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises : An Independent Evaluation of IFC's Experience with Financial Intermediaries in Frontier Countries(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)Since the mid-1990s, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has designed a number of strategies for supporting micro, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs). The IFC strategy in place since 2001 focuses on: (i) providing financial support to MSMEs through financial intermediaries; and (ii) providing non-financial, indirect, institution-building support to MSMEs through project-development facilities co-financed by donors. In addition, IFC's corporate strategies focus on supporting private sector development in frontier countries (characterized by high risk or low income), in response to their relatively lower private capital inflows and less developed banking systems, as compared with medium (or low) risk middle-income countries. The objective of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the confluence of these two institutional strategic priorities (support for MSMEs through financial intermediaries, and support to enterprises in frontier countries) as well as to provide recommendations on how the strategy to support MSMEs through financial intermediaries in frontier countries can be improved to enhance its development impacts. This study evaluated the outcomes of all 21 operationally mature, for-profit, micro enterprise-oriented financial intermediary (MFI) projects and all 72 operationally mature, for-profit, small and medium-size enterprise-oriented financial intermediary (SME-FI) projects supported by IFC in countries designated as frontier countries at the time of project approval.Publication Maximizing the Outreach of Microfinance in Nepal : The Case for a Central Technology Platform(Washington, DC, 2008-12)This report addresses the establishment of a centralized information and communication technology (ICT) platform for the microfinance sector in Nepal. It has been shown from international experience that ICT improves the efficiency, transparency, and outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and reduces operational costs. There is an opportunity in Nepal to implement similar solutions, and this report provides information on these solutions and offers recommendations for implementing them in Nepal. The microfinance sector in Nepal has many players, but these players have shown few real successes. The sector is largely unsustainable, subsidy driven, and fragmented to the extent that it might not meet the real needs of the country. This report presents a new paradigm for introducing ICT in the microfinance sector of Nepal. The centralized technology platform was chosen as opposed to telecom-led platforms due to its ability to resolve most of the pertinent challenges that Nepal's microfinance sector faces. The paradigm can help remove most of the constraints that have limited the growth of MFIs and kept them from becoming sustainable, moving out to remote and rural areas, and providing more loans to those that need them. In the traditional paradigm, MFIs acquire ICT in an ad hoc fashion and are able to use it only partially to automate their operations.Publication Benchmarking the Financial Performance, Growth, and Outreach of Greenfield Microfinance institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-09)In recent years there has been a rapid increase in the presence and growth of greenfield microfinance institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper uses regressions to benchmark those African greenfields relative to other microfinance providers and finds that greenfields grew faster in terms of deposits and lending, improved their profitability to levels comparable to the top microfinance institutions, and substantially increased their lending to women. The effects were especially strong for greenfields that followed a consultant-led model to establish a deep retail banking presence spanning multiple countries, including the creation of extensive branch networks. Although their loan sizes are somewhat larger than those of most African microfinance institutions, indicating less outreach to the poorest market segments, greenfields have achieved rapid gains in financial inclusion on a broad scale.Publication Financial Sector Assessment Program : Malawi - Access to Financial Services(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09)This technical note the Malawi 2007 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) reviews the current challenges of increasing access to financial services in Malawi. After a cursory assessment of the state of the financial sector in chapter one, it summarizes the key challenges of rural financial sector development (chapter two); then discusses the opportunities that branchless banking technology offers (chapter three), the options for strengthening the financial infrastructure (chapter four) and the role of government in increasing access (chapter five). It concludes with recommendations on how authorities may seek to realize these opportunities (chapter six).Publication Peru : Diagnostic Review of Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy(Washington, DC, 2013-11)The diagnostic review for consumer protection and financial literacy (CPFL) provides a detailed assessment of the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework for consumer protection in four segments of the financial. A World Bank (WB) mission visited Peru from March 18 to 27, 2013 to prepare the review. The objectives of the CPFL review were: (i) to assess the existing consumer protection and financial literacy framework by reviewing laws, regulations, and practices in Peru compared to international good practices; and (ii) to provide recommendations on ways to improve the level of financial consumer protection and financial literacy in Peru. It seeks to identify key measures in strengthening financial consumer protection, with the ultimate aim of increasing the availability and transparency of financial information, helping build consumers' trust in the financial sector, and expanding their capacity to wisely use financial services. The review addresses the following issues: (1) institutional arrangements, (2) legal and regulatory framework, (3) disclosure, (4) business practices, (5) dispute resolution mechanisms, and (6) financial education.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The Mexican Social Protection System in Health(World Bank, Washington DC, 2013-01)With a population of 113 million and a per-capita Gross Domestic Product, or GDP of US$10,064 (current U.S. dollars), Mexico is one of the largest and highest-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The country has benefited from sustained economic growth during the last decade, which was temporarily interrupted by the financial and economic crisis. Real GDP is projected to grow 3.8 percent and 3.6 percent in 2012 and 2013, respectively (International Monetary Fund, or IMF 2012). Despite this growth, poverty in the country remains high; with half of the population living below the national poverty line. The country is also highly heterogeneous, with large socioeconomic differences across states and across urban and rural areas. In 2010, while the extreme poverty ratio in the Federal District and the states of Colima and Nuevo Leon was below 3 percent, in Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca it was 25 percent or higher. These large regional differences are also found in other indicators of well-being, such as years of schooling, housing conditions, and access to social services. This case study assesses key features and achievements of the Social Protection System in Health (Sistema de Proteccion Social en Salud) in Mexico, and particularly of its main pillar, Popular Health Insurance (Seguro Popular, PHI). It analyzes the contribution of this policy to the establishment and implementation of universal health coverage in Mexico. In 2003, with the reform of the General Health Law, the PHI was institutionalized as a subsidized health insurance scheme open to the population not covered by the social security schemes. Today, the PHI covers all of its intended affiliates, about 52 million peoplePublication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Guide to the Debt Management Performance Assessment Tool(Washington, DC, 2008-02-05)The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and supplemental information to assist with country assessments of debt management performance, using the Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) tool. The DeMPA is a methodology used for assessing public debt management performance through a comprehensive set of 15 performance indicators spanning the full range of government Debt Management (DeM) functions. It is based on the principles set out in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank guidelines for public debt management, initially published in 2001 and updated in 2003. It is modeled after the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) framework for performance measurement of public financial management. The DeMPA has been designed to be a user-friendly tool to undertake an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in government DeM practices. This guide provides additional background and supporting information so that a no specialist in the area of debt management may undertake a country assessment effectively. The guide can be used by assessors in preparing for and undertaking an assessment. It is particularly useful for understanding the rationale for the inclusion of the indicators, the scoring methodology, and the list of supporting documents or evidence required, and the questions that could be asked for the assessment.Publication Crime and Violence in Central America : A Development Challenge - Main Report(World Bank, 2011-01-01)Crime and violence are now a key development issue for Central American countries. In three nations El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras crime rates are among the top five in Latin America. This report argues that successful strategies require actions along multiple fronts, combining prevention and criminal justice reform, together with regional approaches in the areas of drug trafficking and firearms. It also argues that interventions should be evidence based, starting with a clear understanding of the risk factors involved and ending with a careful evaluation of how any planned action might affect future options. In addition, the design of national crime reduction plans and the establishment of national cross-sectoral crime commissions are important steps to coordinate the actions of different government branches, ease cross-sectoral collaboration and prioritize resource allocation. Of equal importance is the fact that national plans offer a vehicle for the involvement of civil society organizations, in which much of the expertise in violence prevention and rehabilitation resides. Prevention efforts need to be complemented by effective law enforcement. The required reforms are no longer primarily legislative in nature because all six countries have advanced toward more transparent adversarial criminal procedures. The second-generation reforms should instead help deliver on the promises of previous reforms by: (i) strengthening key institutions and improving the quality and timeliness of the services they provide to citizens; (ii) improving efficiency and effectiveness while respecting due process and human rights; (iii) ensuring accountability and addressing corruption; (iv) increasing inter-agency collaboration; and (v) improving access to justice, especially for poor and disenfranchised groups. Specific interventions reviewed in the report include: information systems and performance indicators as a prerequisite to improve inter-institutional coordination and information sharing mechanisms; an internal overhaul of court administration and case management to create rapid reaction, one-stop shops; the strengthening of entities that provide legal counseling to the poor and to women; and the promotion of alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms and the implementation of community policing programs.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.