microfinance

Chit funds have traditionally been utilized by groups of women in Southern India <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/2183521230/in/set-72157603947778876/"> World Bank (flickr)</a>

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Chit funds: You save your money, you take your chances

Amid the setbacks affecting India’s microfinance market an old time tradition has emerged with potential to provide an alternative for economic mobility.

Mobile phones are one of the ways ADB says will increase microfinance availability among the poor. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cimmyt/8048414699/">CIMMYT (flickr)</a>.

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Financial Inclusion

MFIs should offer more than just microfinance, study finds

Despite the surging popularity of microfinance in the last several decades, access among the poor in Asia and the Pacific remains low. A new report says technology and livelihood programs will put it in the hands of more people.

Buddist monk outside a ger. Gers are traditional Mongolian tent-structures which house 25% of the Ulaanbaatar population. Photo:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerrold/238389879/in/set-72157594275395164/">Jerrold Bennett (Flickr)</a>.

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Now that's value: Three-step value chain designed by Citi helps Mongolians to cut pollution

A collaborative carbon credit financing chain is enabling residents of Ulaanbaatar, one of the world's most polluted cities, to make energy-efficiency improvements in their own homes.

Herders in Mongolia's vast rural plains now have access to commercial loans for their small businesses. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps.

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New legislation paves the way for business development in Mongolia

For years, the only thing harsher than Mongolia's winters was the country's business climate. But spring may be on its way for Mongolian entrepreneurs.

The supply chain of microfinance. Photos by Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps.

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Amid the ashes of the financial crisis, cross-border microfinance warms up

Even as problems with microfinance continue to spread, cross—border microfinance is firing up.

"The financial circumstances of poor people are qualitatively, not just quantitatively, distinct," says Roodman. Picture: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34227370@N03/4972707245/">Melanie Dornier (Flickr)</a>

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4 Finance Essentials for Poverty Alleviation

We can’t simply scale down traditional financial services to meet the needs of the poor. Poor households aren’t microversions of the rich—they’re fundamentally different.

Thanks to the One Acre Fund, microfinance is finally reaching Africa's small farmers. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukas/4291386306/">Lukas Bergstrom (Flickr)</a>

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Why the future of rural microfinance looks a lot like the One Acre Fund

Two weeks after our coverage, the One Acre Fund was also featured in a 10-minute segment on the PBS Newshour.

Pader District is part of Uganda's northern region, where farming is the main livelihood and source of income. Photo: Thatcher Cook/Mercy Corps.

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PHASE ONE: Lighting a pathway for solar in rural Uganda

Phase One: The critical first step involves information, information, information.

Solar panels in Uganda. Photo: Jenny Vaughn/Mercy Corps.

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INTRO: Lighting a pathway for solar in rural Uganda

In this three-part series, we explore the role an international aid nonprofit played in convincing urban solar companies to sell their products to poor, rural farmers, and convincing poor, rural farmers to reallocate their kerosene budget to solar.