Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania's Microfinance Club
News & Headlines
3rd Annual Penn Microfinance ConferenceThank you for coming to our conference. Images from the event are available here. Videos of the panel sessions will be available soon, as will a survey about how the conference went and what we can do to improve next year.
http://www.pennmicrofinanceconference.com
Microfinance 101
Download the slides from our recent event by clicking here.
About Microfinance
Microfinance is an effective means to poverty alleviation. Research showed that in Bangladesh microfinance helps poor, loan-borrowing persons pull themselves above the poverty line at a rate of 48%. Those who didn’t borrow escaped poverty at a rate of only 4%.
The industry’s primary agent is the microcredit loan, a small but usefully-sized loan given to a group of poor entrepreneurs. With access to credit, these poor persons can purchase productive business capital and with it start family-run businesses, thereby generating greater incomes. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) most usually target women.
Many MFIs serve multiple social missions, including gender equality, health education, access to healthcare and sustainable development. In recent years, the profitability of these institutions has become a top priority, as not-for-profit MFIs often must lend at higher interest rates.