Is Microcredit a Real Innovation?

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to challenge the common idea that microfinance, which is part of alternative finance, was created by Professor Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2006. This chapter aims to outline past initiatives which can be compared to contemporary microcredit practice.

Methodology/Approach – In this chapter we look at historical aspects of finance and all kinds of alternative finance in order to demonstrate that microcredit existed in an archaic form long before Professor Yunus's theorization.

Findings – We find that microcredit has barely always existed in different forms, but has benefited from technic innovations to get a wider outreach.

Originality/Value of chapter – These findings are novel since nobody evoked this clearly before.

Citation

Attuel-Mendès, L. (2012), "Is Microcredit a Real Innovation?", Barnett, W.A. and Jawadi, F. (Ed.) Recent Developments in Alternative Finance: Empirical Assessments and Economic Implications (International Symposia in Economic Theory and Econometrics, Vol. 22), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 235-245. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1571-0386(2012)0000022017