Social Purpose, Commercialization, and Innovations in Microfinance (eBook)

This book analyses three key aspects of microfinancing, namely social purpose, commercialization and innovations and examines, through a global perspective, how these aspects helped and diverted microfinance institutions towards the attainment of their dual goals over the last twenty years. Since microfinance remains informal in nature for most economies, not all financial innovations are suitable for its needs. Hence, the arguments in the book put forth an important challenge to the advocates of innovations and subsequently highlight why MFIs should be cautious when integrating innovations to ensure its original promise. The book is based on empirical analysis by utilising the latest and global microfinance market data, rather than focusing on a specific region. Thus, the book bridges a gap in knowledge by unravelling detail of the social purpose, commercialization and innovations within the field of microfinance and will be a valuable resource for those exploring the dynamics of innovations in microfinance.

Md Aslam Mia is currently Senior Lecturer at the School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. He holds a doctoral degree in economics (research area: microfinance) from the Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Dr. Mia has published over 35 research articles and chapters in internationally reputed peer-reviewed journals/publishers. Most of his work is related to microfinance, such as productivity and efficiency, market structure, mission drift, risk-taking, gender diversity, and multiple borrowing. In addition to that, he has also presented his research findings in over 20+ national and international conferences/seminars (during the last six years) held in Thailand, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. As he believes in the principle of 'sharing is caring,' Dr. Mia has conducted over 25+ workshops/seminars on various research issues/techniques/tools in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Due to his significant contribution in research and publication, Dr. Mia received the 'Ph.D. Candidate with Highest Impact Publications' award by the Universiti Malaya in 2018.

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This book analyses three key aspects of microfinancing, namely social purpose, commercialization and innovations and examines, through a global perspective, how these aspects helped and diverted microfinance institutions towards the attainment of their dual goals over the last twenty years. Since microfinance remains informal in nature for most economies, not all financial innovations are suitable for its needs. Hence, the arguments in the book put forth an important challenge to the advocates of innovations and subsequently highlight why MFIs should be cautious when integrating innovations to ensure its original promise. The book is based on empirical analysis by utilising the latest and global microfinance market data, rather than focusing on a specific region. Thus, the book bridges a gap in knowledge by unravelling detail of the social purpose, commercialization and innovations within the field of microfinance and will be a valuable resource for those exploring the dynamics of innovations in microfinance.