Microfinance and the State

Since the early 1990s, there have been many significant state initiatives in the institutional and policy spheres to facilitate access to financial services by more poverty-stricken groups. This article reviews the performance of formal institutional channels of microfinance and discusses the emergence of new forms of collaboration in the delivery of microfinance services. However, some persistent issues in regulatory policies and institutional arrangements need to be dealt with so as to help the state leverage the resources available for the poor, effectively and in a sustainable manner.