Microfinance: Creating Opportunities in Emerging Markets
Loading...
Published
2024-08-23
Author(s)
International Finance Corporation
Editor(s)
Abstract
Microfinance is an important tool for improving livelihoods at the base of the pyramid by increasing access to finance to underserved households and microentrepreneurs, especially women. Yet the sector still reaches less than 20 percent of its potential market among the world’s 3 billion poor people.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“International Finance Corporation. 2024. Microfinance: Creating Opportunities in Emerging Markets. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42081 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Item IFC Financing to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in the Poorest Countries(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-13)IFC is working to develop solutions to close the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) financing gap, collaborating with 129 financial institutions (FIs) across 39 International Development Association (IDA) countries. As of June 2013, IFC committed a total of 3.97 billion to MSME finance in IDA countries. The major drivers of deposits portfolio by SME FIs growth were: a) scaling up of four clients in Sub-Saharan Africa; b) scaling up of three clients in East Asia and the Pacific region; and c) adding three new clients with joint portfolio.Item IFC and Small and Medium Enterprises(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-23)Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for about 90 percent of businesses and more than 50 percent of employment worldwide. They are key engines of job creation and economic growth in developing countries, particularly following the global financial crisis.Publication Experiences of Microfinance Institutions Serving Very Small to Small Enterprises in Latin America(Washington, DC, 2014-07)Very small enterprises (VSEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) represent a broad and heterogeneous segment, often underserved by formal financial institutions. They are generally informal and often family businesses. The financial needs of these enterprises are typically overlooked by “downscaling” banks, which find larger and often more formal small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be a more natural market for their products and services. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are starting to move upmarket to serve SMEs, and in particular, VSEs within this segment. However, they use varying definitions, methodologies and products to do so and to date there has been little research or documentation of their experiences. This report highlights the results of a recent study of the existing practices in Latin America of MFIs serving VSEs, where VSEs are considered to be those businesses with financing needs of between US$7,000 and US$30,000. It is a starting point for an institution considering entering the segment, or for one that finds itself having grown into the segment “organically” but with a view to strengthen its position. It includes several checklists for MFIs interested in expanding upmarket into the VSE space, as well as more detailed discussions and examples of the most relevant points.Publication Country Partnership Framework for the Republic of Guatemala for the Period FY17-20(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-10-17)Guatemala is at an historic juncture, following a political and institutional crisis in 2015, a newly elected government is starting to take on deep-rooted development problems. The crisis was triggered by the uncovering of a corruption scheme that permeated the tax administration superintendence (SAT) and the highest political levels. The country has enormous potential to generate growth and prosperity for its population; yet growth remains low, poverty and inequality persistently high, and high rates of childhood stunting threaten Guatemala’s ability to reach its full development potential. This glaring juxtaposition highlights the existence of two Guatemala’s, with large gaps in both social and economic outcomes. In this context, the World Bank Group’s (WBG) new country partnership framework (CPF) seeks to support Guatemala in fostering inclusion of vulnerable groups, and addressing bottlenecks to sustainable growth.Publication IFC Annual Report 2014 : Big Challenges, Big Solutions(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2014)International Finance Corporation (IFC or the Corporation) is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. Established in 1956, IFC is owned by 184 member countries, a group that collectively determines its policies. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group (WBG)1 but is a legal entity separate and distinct from IBRD, IDA, MIGA, and ICSID, with its own Articles of Agreement, share capital, financial structure, management, and staff. Membership in IFC is open only to member countries of IBRD. At the 2013 Spring Meetings, the WBG adopted two ambitious goals: to end extreme poverty by 2030 and to boost shared prosperity for the poorest 40 percent in developing countries. At the Annual Meetings in October 2013, the Board of Governors approved the first strategy for the WBG focused on delivery of transformational solutions, marshaling combined resources more effectively, and accelerating collaboration with the private sector and our development partners. IFC s strategic focus areas are: strengthening the focus on frontier markets; addressing climate change and ensuring environmental and social sustainability; addressing constraints to private sector growth in infrastructure, health, education, and the food-supply chain; developing local financial markets; and building long-term client relationships in emerging markets.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Women, Business and the Law 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-04)Women, Business and the Law 2024 is the 10th in a series of annual studies measuring the enabling conditions that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. To present a more complete picture of the global environment that enables women’s socioeconomic participation, this year Women, Business and the Law introduces two new indicators—Safety and Childcare—and presents findings on the implementation gap between laws (de jure) and how they function in practice (de facto). This study presents three indexes: (1) legal frameworks, (2) supportive frameworks (policies, institutions, services, data, budget, and access to justice), and (3) expert opinions on women’s rights in practice in the areas measured. The study’s 10 indicators—Safety, Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension—are structured around the different stages of a woman’s working life. Findings from this new research can inform policy discussions to ensure women’s full and equal participation in the economy. The indicators build evidence of the critical relationship between legal gender equality and women’s employment and entrepreneurship. Data in Women, Business and the Law 2024 are current as of October 1, 2023.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.Publication Recipe for a Livable Planet(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-09-20)The global agrifood system has been largely overlooked in the fight against climate change. Yet, greenhouse gas emissions from the agrifood system are so big that they alone could cause the world to miss the goal of keeping global average temperatures from rising above 1.5 centigrade compared to preindustrial levels. Greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood must be cut to net zero by 2050 to achieve this goal. Recipe for a Livable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System offers the first comprehensive global strategic framework to mitigate the agrifood system’s contributions to climate change, detailing affordable and readily available measures that can cut nearly a third of the world’s planet heating emissions while ensuring global food security. These actions, which are urgently needed, offer three additional benefits: improving food supply reliability, strengthening the global food system’s resilience to climate change, and safeguarding vulnerable populations. This practical guide outlines global actions and specific steps that countries at all income levels can take starting now, focusing on six key areas: investments, incentives, information, innovation, institutions, and inclusion. Calling for collaboration among governments, businesses, citizens, and international organizations, it maps a pathway to making agrifood a significant contributor to addressing climate change and healing the planet.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.