Women and Financialization: Microcredit, Institutional Investors, and MFIs

My aim in this paper is to show the way in which microfinance acquires the face of women. While micro-finance institutions (MFIs) act under the flag of “serving the common good,” there are still the interests of institutional investors behind them, who are looking to profit through international financial circuits. On one hand, microfinance is part of financial innovation in the global financial circuits. On the other hand, women’s bancarization inserts them into the labor market, hence into the financial circuits. MFIs become part of the shadow financial system. When debating microcredit’s profitability from a gender perspective, I note both the financial effectiveness of microcredits and the role of women as highly profitable economic agents. Is there a relation between financialization and microcredit? Is microcredit an achievement that will improve the economic, political, and social environment for women? Why is it that women’s bancarization has been a priority of international financial organizations? Microcredit with a woman’s face confirms the suggested hypotheses. Their empowerment through microcredit is a new way for financial investors to obtain higher profits through MFIs. The highest interest rates that MFIs charges are an expression of financialization by institutional investors.