Microfinance: What Do We Know? Where Do We Go?

There is little doubt that the revolution in microfinance lending has revolutionized how we think about lending and, in particular, lending to the poorest of the poor with no collateral to pledge. There is also no doubt that the micro lending movement has been an overall success globally. However, there are increasingly emerging signs that all might not be well with the micro lending industry. The problems are not unlike that facing any rapidly growing industry and there is little doubt that the micro lending industry globally has grown in leaps and bounds, perhaps too quickly, over the past four decades fueled by its very own successes. This article summarizes the recent literature related to some of the questions that we consider important and are under researched as fodder for researchers, academics, students and policy makers to spur further thinking and research.