MICROFINANCE, INSTITUTION-BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT

Microfinance institutions matter. The purpose of §this book is: a) to understand their behaviour; b) §to capture some of the issues that affect their §behaviour and development; and c) to focus on §healthy institutionalization processes. Two §methodologies were used to achieve this purpose: §research & field exposure. From frameworks for §analysis to the history and waves of the §microfinance revolution; from understanding §microfinance within a national context to §understanding microfinance within an institutional §context; to field cases from Cairo, Egypt (four §borrowers & four credit officers)... this book has §argued the necessity of evaluating the performance §of microfinance institutions from within and §without. A microfinance institution has to be §healthy from within and without to evolve in a §healthy manner; one cannot be achieved without the §other. Furthermore, the indicators of health should §reflect both financial and non-financial data. This §book was written for microfinance practitioners, §donor agencies, policymakers, consultants, students §in economics, public policy, and development §studies, & others interested in making social §investments.