The term microfinance covers a multitude of financial service providers. Joanna Ledgerwood argues for an approach that recognises their distinctions and plays to their collective strengths.
The Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP), an NGO set up and supported by the Aga Khan Foundation in Tajikistan, is a good example of a market systems approach where a variety of financial initiatives work collaboratively. Launched as a relief and humanitarian initiative, MSDSP transitioned to become a development organisation, promoting good governance and local economic development.
Joanna Ledgerwood is Senior Advisor at the Aga Khan Foundation, leading its financial inclusion initiatives in Africa and Central and South Asia.
Click here to read The service provider spectrum – from microfinance to financial inclusion | DAI partner zone | guardian.co.uk.
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