Microcredit has been accepted as an effective tool for poverty alleviation and as an approach to development. Access to credit has been recognized as a human right. In this context, the book reviews the performance of microcredit programmes; identifies and analyses the issues facing the microcredit sector; and suggests policies and programmes to deal with the issues to further strengthen the role of microcredit for poverty alleviation. Drawing on the experiences of practitioners around the world and significant findings of independent research, the book seeks to find answers to some of the leading questions on microcredit: has the microcredit programmes succeeded in alleviating poverty? Has it empowered women? Can microcredit meet the future challenges of poverty alleviation? The book also presents a critical analysis of the current issues of the microcredit sector such as interest rate, governance, regulatory framework and providing credit to the poorest. The issues related to sustainability of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) such as their sources of funding and legal status have received attention in the book with the aim of attacking poverty with microcredit consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by the year 2015.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR M.A. Hakim
M.A. Hakim is presently a General Manger of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) incharge of administration, research, human resources development and capacity building programmes. Trained in economics at home and abroad, he worked at Rural Development Academy, Bogra; Colombo based International Water Management Institute, and Save the Children Fund UK at Dhaka. He has also served as a consultant/researcher for the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA); UN Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD); and Winrock International. He has written and researched on microcredit, irrigation and rural development issues.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Salehuddin Ahmed
Salehuddin Ahmed is Managing Director (CEO) of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), the apex funding agency of microcredit operations in Bangladesh. He obtained his Ph. D. in Economics from Canada in 1978. he started his career as a teacher in Economics at Dhaka University and then joined the civil service of the government. He worked at the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP). He was Director General of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), Comilla and also Director General of the NGO Affairs Bureau. He has authored more than 60 books, reports and journal articles which have been published at home and abroad. He is on the advisory bodies of several government and non-government agencies in Bangladesh.
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