Ethiopia - Two Microfinance Delivery Programs
Formal financial institutions in Ethiopia have traditionally focused on the accessible urban towns leaving rural areas, where the majority of the population resides, without access to financial services. Recognizing this problem, a number of develo...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1999/04/1574611/ethiopia-two-microfinance-delivery-programs http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9868 |
| Summary: | Formal financial institutions in
Ethiopia have traditionally focused on the accessible urban
towns leaving rural areas, where the majority of the
population resides, without access to financial services.
Recognizing this problem, a number of development agencies
such as Redd Barna and World Vision started to provide
access to financial services to the poor in rural areas in
the 1980s. They undertook income generation programs by
forming saving and credit schemes. Credit to the rural poor
was provided in the form of grants, and agricultural inputs.
Women were the primary targets of these programs. This study
summarizes the findings of action research conducted on
microfinance institutions in Ethiopia, with focus on the
performance of Redd Barna and on Irish Aid-supported
program. Action research facilitates the exchange of
information on innovations and experiences so that other
micro-finance institutions may learn from each other's
mistakes and replicate best practices. The extended study on
which this article is based addresses their mode of
operation, organization, legal framework, as well as the
financial and non-financial services they offer. The focus
in on one urban and two rural and savings and credit schemes. |
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