Research & Analysis

CGAP Glossary of Microfinance Terms English to French

A glossary of microfinance terms translated from English to French.

Guaranteed Loans to Microfinance Institutions: How Do They Add Value?

This Focus Note looks at recent experience with guarantees of commercial loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs).

Foreign Exchange Risk Mitigation Techniques

This Technical Guide addresses an MFI’s hedging options to mitigate foreign exchange risk.

Good Practice Guidelines for Funders of Microfinance

This Consensus Guidelines provide practical guidance for donor staff on how to best interact with, and support, the various actors in microfinance. These guidelines were developed through a highly participatory process, including comments from 20 CGAP member donors and 10 other civil society organizations and individuals. This is the latest edition of these guidelines, which were first published as "Building Inclusive Financial Systems: Donor Guidelines on Good Practice Microfinance" in December 2004.

Financial Inclusion 2015

CGAP undertook a scenario-building exercise to help anticipate and prepare for the global demographic, political, and technological forces that will shape the future of microfinance. We and a wide range of outside experts grappled with the potential impact of these forces in order to craft positive and negative scenarios for the year 2015 that might instruct the microfinance actors today.

Use of Agents in Branchless Banking for the Poor

For poor people, “branchless banking” through retail agents may be far more convenient and efficient than going to a bank branch.

Commercial Loan Agreements

This Technical Guide introduces borrowing microfinance institutions (MFIs or borrowers) to important provisions of a standard commercial bank loan agreement.

Safe and Accessible: Bringing Poor Savers Into the Financial System

Despite significant evidence to the contrary, many financial institution managers and policy makers do not believe poor people save money. They tend to assume that poor people are “too poor to save,” that they prefer to consume rather than save excess income, or that when they do save it is only to access a loan.

Community-Managed Loan Funds: Which Ones Work?

This Focus Note presents conclusions from a performance review of dozens of CMLF projects established or supported by donors and international nongovernment organizations (NGOs) over the past 15 years. It turns out that success is strongly linked to the source of funding for the loans group members receive.

Supporting Community-Managed Loan Funds

This Brief gives a quick overview of community-managed loan funds.