In many urban areas around the United States, certain neighborhoods have few, if any, traditional financial services available for local residents. This intriguing report, produced by the Urban Institute Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center (for the Fannie Mae Foundation), explores the alternative financial service providers (such as check-cashing outlets) that some 56 million adults...
Consultive Group to Assist the Poorest was founded in 1995 as a microfinance tool geared towards helping poor people. CGAP works with microfinance institutions, donors, and the microfinance industry by "providing technical assistance and strategic advice, by developing and disseminating technical guides and services, by delivering training, and by performing field research on innovations."...
Microfinance programs harness Web to connect borrowers and lenders
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_13726179?nclick_check=1
Kiva is Not Quite What It Seems
http://blogs.cgdev.org/open_book/2009/10/kiva-is-not-quite-what-it-seems.php
Innocuous Changes vs. Grand Designs
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-whittle/innocuous-changes-vs-gran_b_350588.html
Microfinance Gateway...
Published by the Small Enterprise and Education Promotion (SEEP) Network, Learning from Clients: Assessment Tools for Microfinance Practitioners is a 365-page manual addressing the uses of impact assessment tools in microfinance. The manual offers "practical, detailed, step-by-step guidance to interested and committed organizations willing to invest staff time and a moderate amount of financial...