Microfinance Horizon

8 December 2010 [PressRelease]

According to the World Bank 2008 report, almost half of the world’s population- over 3 billion people- live on less than $2.50 a day. The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income, while the richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income (Human Development Report 2007). Microfinance offers those who were previously considered “un-bankable” because of their lack of collateral, an opportunity to expand their businesses, increase their incomes, and transform their lives, which some consider a key requirement to increasing investment in rural development.

In 2009, in order to find out which nonprofits were making the biggest difference, or impact, on microfinance at the international level, we ran our research surveying 131 international microfinance experts (with an average of 10 years of work experience in the field).

Philanthropedia’s experts (funders, researchers, nonprofit senior staff, government officials, etc.) identified 12 top microfinance nonprofits (out of 107 total reviewed nonprofits) working in at the international level. These organizations include loan providers, information research organizations, online platforms, consulting practices, and more.

The following is the list of the top-recommended high-impact nonprofits working on microfinance at the international level. “Agree” is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field. “Disagree” is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field.

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