1.6 billion people do not have access to financial services and 70 percent of them are women. The microfinance revolution has transformed access to financial services for low-income populations worldwide as it targets individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. This form of financial service has become one of the most talked-about innovations in global development in recent decades.
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Female empowerment has often been one of the key promises of microfinance. More than 80 percent of its poorest clients are women who live on less than $1.25 a day. While microfinance has been praised as a tactic to promote female empowerment and end world poverty, critics argue it also increases levels of indebtedness among already impoverished communities and exacerbates several dimensions of vulnerability.
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Tune in with finance expert Dr. Sarah Kayongo. Moderated by Louis Grabowski, we will examine the potential and limits of microfinance and how insights from research and practice can help improve current offerings, policies, and future developments.
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The Members Forum Steering Committee presents this program.

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