Replicating Microfinance in the United States

Download or read book Replicating Microfinance in the United States written by James H. Carr and published by Woodrow Wilson Center Press. This book was released on 2002-06-28 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microfinance was pioneered in the developing world as the lending of small amounts of money to entrepreneurs who lacked the kinds of credentials and collateral demanded by banks. Similar practices spread from the developing to the developed world, reversing the usual direction of innovation, and today several hundred microfinance institutions are operating in the United States. Replicating Microfinace in the United States reviews experiences in both developing and industrialized countries and extends the applications of microlending beyond enterprise to consumer finance, housing finance, and community development finance, concentrating especially on previously underserved households and their communities.