Microfinance for Bankers and Investors: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges of the Market at the Bottom of the Pyramid

What promise did Sequoia Capitalrecognize in SKS microfinance (India)that it had also seen in Apple, Oracle, andGoogle?

Why would Vodafone help distributemoney via cell phones for millionsof Kenyans?

How did a Mexican retailer createa financial-services empire, Banco Azteca,that would serve eight million borrowers infive years?

From its origins as a nonprofit povertyalleviation strategy, microfinance has becomea viable business model for providing financialservices to the poor in ways that allow forboth social responsibility and profit, even inthe midst of economic turmoil.

Longtime microfinance expert ElisabethRhyne and her team guide readers throughthe landscape of financial-inclusion opportunities,providing lessons from companiesaround the world that are leading the wayin earning profits while addressing globalpoverty.

Microfinance for Bankers and Investors reveals:

• Changes in the market allowingfor increased private investmentin microfinance
• New technologies and deliverychannels that reduce costs forsmall transactions
• Proven ways to overcome the uniquechallenges of serving customersat the bottom of the pyramid
• Innovative products for grassrootsfinance, such as mobile phonebanking and microinsurance
• The extraordinary social value andbusiness sustainability of microfinance

Microfinance for Bankers and Investors breaksnew ground by showing how microfinanceattracts top organizations to engage indouble and triple bottom-line businessactivities. With deep insight and clear vision,it examines the unique opportunities andchallenges of providing financial services forlow-income people.

Inclusive finance gives companies the prospectof aligning social values with long-termbusiness strategies. Microfinance for Bankersand Investors offers the facts and insights youneed to enter this fast-growing market withconfidence.

Elisabeth Rhyne is managing director of theCenter for Financial Inclusion at ACCIONInternational, where she works to bringtogether leaders in financial services to addresschallenges facing the microfinance industrytoday. ACCION International is a leadingmicrofinance organization that providesmicroloans, business training, and other financialservices to low-income people startingtheir own businesses. Rhyne is the author offour previous books on the subject, includingMainstreaming Microfinance.