With humble beginnings in the 1980s, microfinance is now a prominent market with reach in dozens of countries. Microfinance institutes (MFIs) offer many services and come in many forms and sizes:
- Formal Institutions – rural banks/microfinance banks/village banks, commercial banks, telecom firms, and cooperatives
- Semiformal Institutions – nongovernment organizations
- Informal Sources – money lenders and shopkeepers (this list was originally part of another article).
We’ve listed several examples which fall under the first two types of MFIs, and they include Forbes Magazine’s recent compilations of the 50 top MFIs across the world.
Albania
- BESA Fund
Armenia
- INECO Bank
Bangladesh
- Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
- BURO, formerly BURO Tangail
- Grameen Bank
- Integrated Development Foundation
- Jagorani Chakra Foundation
- Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women
- ASA
Bolivia
- Crédito con Educación Rural
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- EKI Microfinance
- MI-BOSPO Tuzla
- Microcredit Organization Sunrise
- MIKROFIN Banja Luka
- Partner Microfinance
Brazil
- Banco do Nordeste
Chad
- FINADEV Microfinance Bank
- Catholic Relief Services
Colombia
- Fundación Mundial de la Mujer Bucaramanga
- Fundación Mundo Mujer Popayán
- Fundación WWB Colombia – Cali (Loans)
Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Finca Microfinance
- Groupe Soficom
Ecuador
- Credi Fe Desarrollo Microempresarial S.A.
- FINCA – ECU
Egypt
- Dakahlya Businessmen’s Association for Community Development
Ethiopia
- Amhara Credit and Savings Institution
- Dedebit Credit and Savings Institution
- Oromia Microfinance
- OMO Microfinance (Loans)
- Gasha Microfinance
- Wisdom Microfinance
- Sidama Microfinance
India
- Asmitha Microfin Ltd.
- Bandhan (Society and NBFC)
- Grameen Koota
- Microcredit Foundation of India
- Saadhana Microfin Society
- Sharada’s Women’s Association for Weaker Section
- SKS Microfinance Private Limited
- SEWA: Self-help Women’s Association
- SIDBI – Small Industries Development Bank of India
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Jordan
- Development and Employment Fund
- Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan Loan Fund
Kenya
- One Acre Fund
- Kosovo
- Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves LLC (formerly Rural Finance Project of Kosovo)
Madagascar
- AccessBanque Madagascar Limited
Mexico
- Banco Compartamos, S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple (read case study)
Mongolia
- Khan Bank (Agricultural Bank of Mongolia LLP)
Morocco
- Association Al Amana for the Promotion of Micro-Enterprises Morocco
- Fondation Banque Populaire pour le Micro-Credit
- Fondation Zakoura
- FONDEP Micro-Crédit/loan
Nicaragua
- Fundacion Para La Promocion y el Desarrollo
Nigeria
- Estate Microfinance Bank
- Kashf Foundation
- Tameer Micro Finance Bank Limited (read Case Study)
- First Microfinance Bank of Pakistan
- Khushhali Bank
Peru
- Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito de Arequipa
- Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito de Cusco Loan
- Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito de Trujillo
- Programas para la Mujer – Peru
Philippines
- Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation
Russia
- Consumer Credit Union ‘Economic Partnership’ Loan
Sri Lanka
- Sanasa Development Bank
Serbia
- AgroInvest
- Opportunity Bank A.D. Podgorica
Tanzania
- Access Bank Tanzania Limited
- National Microfinance Bank
Tunisia
- Enda inter-arabe loan
Uganda
- Pearl Microfinance Limited
United States of America (USA)
- Accion USA
As always, if you feel we have missed out a few MFIs, or you haven’t quite found what you’re looking for, please let us know. You may like to read articles about services in microfinance.
Hi, I have a suggestion on you blogging technique for SEO.
In your post above, especially the last paragraph, try to make ‘anchor text’ as your ‘text link’, instead of putting ‘click here’, you anchor text should be ‘microfinance services’. This is to give the search engine crawlers/bots a hint of that linked page (lol). If ever, I will link to you, I will not use your name as anchor text, instead, I will use ‘microfinance hub’ to maximize the keyword ‘microfinance.’
Your list is comprehensive. If in the future, you will talk about them one by one, my gosh, you have a lot of articles to do. Good luck.
Thanks for the suggestion. I have incorporated it. As for the article you mentioned on your blog (about the lack of governance at MFIs) I think you should write it because you have greater expertise in that area. I will be glad to put up and excerpt and link out to you.