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This study aims to consider the anti-money laundering/combating of financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime that applies to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance programmes and projects (MFPs) in Vietnam to identify ways in which to improve the alignment between financial inclusion and financial integrity objectives in relation to this sector.

This doctrinal study is informed by the Financial Action Task Force mutual evaluation methodology.

The AML/CFT regulatory framework for MFIs/MFPs is inadequate but improving. The money laundering and terrorist financing risks posed by microfinance are low and so is the capacity of many providers to comply with AML/CFT obligations. Given the low risk, there is space to simplify AML/CFT requirements for this sector in a manner that will better align financial inclusion and financial integrity policy objectives.

This paper considers the implementation of AML/CFT obligations of MFIs/MFPs based on existing studies as well as own research relating to compliance and supervisory practices. Further empirical studies to determine for the whole microfinance sector could provide a more granular understanding of crime risks and compliance capacities in the sector.

AML/CFT regulators in Vietnam can take concrete steps to simplify the AML/CFT due diligence obligations of MFIs/MFPs and support these institutions to formalise and implement appropriate AML/CFT measures.

MFIs/MFPs play a vital socio-economic role by providing financial services to the poor. Appropriate AML/CFT control measures can enable these providers to continue providing these services while strengthening economic formalisation and integrity goals of the government.

The paper provides novel supervisory perspectives on the AML/CFT regime in relation to MFIs/MFPs.

Rural poverty has been a significant problem in Indonesia for decades. To address this issue, rural microfinance institutions play an essential role. Badan Kredit Desa (Village Credit Institution/BKD) is an existing microfinance institution at the village level. This study aims to assess the financial health of BKD and explore whether transformation into a formal form of microfinance institutions can be done to help improve the welfare and economy of people in rural areas. This study used a mixed-method approach to understand the rural microfinance institution's condition by analyzing financial data for the 2016–2018 period and conducting an in-depth interview with BKD stakeholders to explore the possibility of transformation. This study found 15 out of 20 BKDs with relatively healthy criteria that can be transformed into a formal microfinance institution. In comparison, five BKDs that fall under the criteria cannot be transformed into formal ones. Moreover, BKDs have to face internal and external problems that might cause their low financial performance in conducting their operational activities. This research has several significant implications; first, as a baseline for local governments to determine the future of BKDs; second, transformed BKD will foster entrepreneurship by giving productive loans to village people; third, more economic activities as a result of increased entrepreneurship will lower poverty levels in the village; fourth, increased entrepreneurship and reduced poverty will support positive economic growth for Indonesia.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of a mobile network system for an Islamic microfinance institution, made in collaboration with a commercial bank in Malaysia. It also intends to highlight any emerging issues pertaining to the implementation of technology into the disbursement and repayment system of an Islamic microfinance institution from their clients’ perspectives. As Islamic microfinance industry is still growing in Malaysia, findings gathered throughout the course of study are also intended to boost further knowledge relating to this area.

By using a case study method, interview sessions were conducted separately with clients of the Islamic microfinance institution. The purpose of interview sessions is to identify the benefits and problem that surrounds the usage of mobile banking into the repayment system for Islamic microfinance products. Data triangulation with various public documents was conducted to enhance the credibility and reliability of data, also to support the claims that were made by the respondents.

It was found that clients are quite satisfied with the disbursement process through a mobile solution. However, the same cannot be said with the repayment process. The difficulties in using the mobile solution pose a major threat to its success. As most clients are not born to be technological savvy, the lack of easiness in methods for the usage of a mobile solution for their transactions pushes them away from further exploring the benefits that can be brought in by the function. Other risks which were highlighted include concerns towards breach of trust and risks of robbery. Clients of the case study, on the other hand, are concerned that the transfer of cash between their meeting venues to the bank would expose them to the public who might try to take advantage from the situation.

As the current study had only focusses on mobile banking aspect of the repayment system for one Islamic microfinance institution, a multiple case study could be adapted to investigate various banking channels being implemented by different Islamic microfinance institutions in Malaysia and their current success.

By highlighting several issues through this study, it is hoped that this Islamic microfinance institution would consider applying other means of payment that are available in the market that is not only cost-efficient, but also beneficial for clients of the institution.

This study highlights the setbacks in the usage of technology by clients of Islamic microfinance institution in Malaysia. Although many approved to the diffusion of innovation in Malaysian banking sector, the same has yet to be achieved in the Islamic microfinance industry, which clients are mostly technology illiterate.

The successful story of microfinance institutions is often tied to the practice and methods of credit delivery as evidence among international world class microfinance institutions across the globe. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of practice and methods of credit delivery employed by “non- profit” and “for-profit” microfinance institutions on financial sustainability and outreach programmes of the microfinance institutions in Nigeria.

The study adopts the survey research design and multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure to collect data from 372 senior management staff, managing directors and board members of microfinance institutions of both groups in Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions analysis.

The findings suggest that the current practice and methods of credit delivery of microfinance in both “non-profit” and “for-profit” microfinance institutions have an inverse relationship with the financial sustainability and outreach programmes of the institutions. This study provides empirical evidence for the incessant failure of microfinance institutions in Nigeria.

The study therefore recommends an immediate overhaul of the methodology and practice of microfinance institutions in the country to align with international best practice.

In spite of the huge literature on microfinance in Nigeria, there is not enough evidence to empirically prove that the practice of microfinance has affected the performance of the industry in Nigeria. This study sets out to fill that gap in the literature. The paper examines the practice of microfinancing in Nigeria vis-à-vis the performance of the microfinance institutions, categorized into NGO and microfinance bank “for-profit” institutions using international best practices from countries where microfinance is highly successful as a benchmark for deployment of microfinance in Nigeria, in order to proffer policy direction to stakeholders on steps to take to ensure viability in the microfinance subsector in Nigeria.

Globally, women have been recognized as key contributors toward livelihood and poverty eradication, especially in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to their great involvement and participation in micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that create employment and ultimately economic growth and development. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to establish the mediating role of social cohesion in the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Northern Uganda where physical collateral were destroyed by war.

The data for this study were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire from 395 women MSMEs who are clients of microfinance institutions in post-war communities in Northern Uganda, which suffered from the 20 years' Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency. The Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software was used to analyze the data and the measurement and structural equation models were constructed to test for the mediating role of social cohesion in the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities.

The results revealed that social cohesion significantly and positively mediate the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. The results suggest that the presence of social cohesion as a social collateral promotes microfinance accessibility by 14.6% to boost survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities where physical collateral were destroyed by war amidst lack of property rights among women. Similarly, the results indicated that social cohesion has a significant influence on survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. Moreover, when combined together, the effect of microfinance accessibility and social cohesion exhibit greater contribution towards survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. Indeed, social cohesion provides the social safety net (social protection) through which women can access business loans from microfinance institutions for survival and growth of their businesses.

This study concentrated mainly on women MSMEs located in post-war communities in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa with a specific focus on Northern Uganda. Women MSMEs located in other regions in Uganda were not sampled in this study. Besides, the study focused only on the microfinance industry as a major source of business finance. It ignored the other financial institutions like commercial banks that equally provide access to financial services to micro-entrepreneurs.

The governments in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where there have been wars should waive-off the registration and licensing fees for grass-root associations because such social associations may act as social protection tools through which women can borrow from financial institutions like the microfinance institutions. The social groups can provide social collateral to women to replace physical collateral required by microfinance institutions in lending. Similarly, the governments, development agencies, and advocates of post-war reconstruction programs in developing countries where there have been wars, especially in sub-Saharan Africa should initiate the provision of group business loans through the existing social women associations. This may offer social protection in terms of social collateral in the absence of physical collateral required by the microfinance institutions in lending. This may be achieved through partnership with the existing microfinance institutions operating in rural areas in post-war communities in developing countries. Additionally, advocates of post-war recovery programs should work with the existing microfinance institutions to design financial products that suit the economic conditions and situations of the women MSMEs in post-war communities. The financial products should meet the business needs of the women MSMEs taking into consideration their ability to fulfil the terms and conditions of use.

This study revisits the role of microfinance accessibility in stimulating survival of women MSMEs as an engine for economic growth in the presence of social cohesion, especially in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa where physical collateral were destroyed by war. It reveals the significant role of social cohesion as a social protection tool and safety net, which contributes to economic outcomes in the absence of physical collateral and property rights among women MSMEs borrowers, especially in post-war communities.

The objective of this study is to analyze the framework within which microfinance institutions (MFIs) deliver their services and provide an assessment of their operations and financial management. These institutions are examined because of their current importance to a special group of consumers, primarily the poor and disenfranchised in the developing world, and of their future promise as an economic development solution. Since the objective of these institutions is somewhat unique, the manner of their assessment must also differ from that used to assess the performance of traditional financial intermediaries. In particular, assessment of MFIs must recognize their dual (bank and development instrument) status. Their efficiency, then, must be analyzed in terms of its economic (or financial) dimension as well as its social dimension. The first dimension may be examined with traditional measures, while examination of the second requires measures that reflect the MFI’s social objectives. In order to accommodate the special nature of MFIs, this study proposes the use of a Balanced Scorecard approach. It contributes to the study of financial institution performance by examining a non‐traditional group of institutions using a variety of assessment measures. The findings should be of value to those interested in the financial sector as well as those involved in public policy decision making.

This study aims to identify the involuntary barriers of financial inclusion which are affecting the usage of Islamic microfinance services in PROCAPEC institution located in Nouakchott-Mauritania. Subsequently, it also examines the effect of gender as a moderator in the model.

Primary data was collected through a cross-sectional questionnaire from 381 beneficiaries of PROCAPEC – a major Islamic microfinance provider in Mauritania. In methodology, the study uses confirmatory factor analysis to identify relevant involuntary factors affecting usage, followed by structural equation modelling to test the impact of these factors on the usage of Islamic microfinance (IsMF) products.

Two of the four factors are statistically significant in affecting the usage of IsMF products, namely, affordability and eligibility. Gender is a moderator in the relationship between affordability and usage, as well as eligibility and usage.

Policymakers, practitioners and managers of Islamic microfinance institutions can consider these factors and focus on strategies, including pricing and promotion, which aim to further develop the Islamic microfinance industry in Mauritania. Also, reducing documentation required from clients and adopting lenient rules to provide suitable products will enhance the use of IsMF products, which may lead to more customers’ attraction.

Although several researchers have articulated financial inclusion, this study sheds light on a specific dimension of financial inclusion to determine the factors impacting IsMF products’ usage. In Mauritania, there are few studies about microfinance. This study will be amongst the pioneer contribution to the geographical gap.

This study aims to seek to fill a gap in regulatory impact assessment in developing countries by presenting an analysis of how formal regulation impact on the efficiency and productivity of financial non-governmental organisations (FNGOs) in Ghana. Much has been written about the formal financial sector, but very little is known about the lower end of microfinance and the impact of formal prudential regulation on FNGOs providing microfinance services. The Bank of Ghana (BOG), nevertheless, in the year 2011, extended formal prudential regulation to FNGOs without any empirical basis. This study uses regulatory theories and empirical evidence to aid in the evaluation of whether formal prudential regulation is appropriate for FNGOs operating within the microfinance sector.

Empirical evidence derived from FNGOs, regulatory agents, consumers and financial lawyers within the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions of Ghana served as the basis of the analysis in this study. Descriptive statistics, frequency counts and percentage scores, were used to analyse the data collected.

The existing structures of FNGOs in Ghana are unsuitable for formal prudential regulation. The BOG does not have adequate staffing and funding to supervise and monitor the microfinance activities of FNGOs. Formal prudential regulation could impede growth and efficient delivery of microfinance services.

The BOG is the only regulatory agency responsible for regulating the financial market in Ghana, thus access to officers with knowledge in the regulatory regime was very limited.

The study revealed in depth information about FNGOs, microfinance and the impact of formal prudential regulation on FNGOs.

The study is the first to use empirical studies and theories of regulation to assess the impact of extending formal prudential regulation to FNGOs in Ghana. Data from the regulator, the regulated and consumers, the key players in any regulatory process, served as the basis of the analysis in the study resulting in the unravelling of in-depth information on the regulation of FNGOs.

The extent to which microfinance succeeds varies greatly even among countries. The paper aims to look at why microfinance develops in some countries rather than others. It aims to identify institutional factors that can be introduced to enable microfinance to succeed in a country.

A small‐sample comparative approach is used, combined with correlation analysis. The research methodology was dictated by the need to find countries that are culturally similar and have the same regulation in order to be able to study other elements.

The authors find that the success of microfinance is linked to its economic performance, in terms of both levels of per capita income and growth, as well as regulatory and public governance, with the amount of remittances being received in a country and with life expectancy at birth.

Different sources provide different data. So, the findings may not be robust but it is the best available data.

The data shows a high correlation between aid and the development of microfinance and also more so between remittances and the growth of this sector. This has some implications for policies aiming at developing entrepreneurship through microfinance.

Most papers when looking at the success of microfinance across regions have failed to take into account differences in cultures and regulations; thus there is a residual bias. The paper's originality stems from the fact that it explains the success of microfinance while controlling for cultural and regulatory factors, and also goes into public governance indicators. This kind of comparative institutional analysis has not been performed for this region.

An amalgamation of Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) has been performed to develop a decision-making framework for improving the overall performance of the microfinance institutions. A primary survey was conducted to collect real-time data from the heterogeneous stakeholders of microfinance institutions across India. The validation of the proposed framework is performed by comparing the results against the conventional method of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP).

This study identifies various dimensions and indicators for measuring the performance of Indian microfinance institutions. Additionally, the ranking and prioritisation of the performance dimensions and indicators is obtained by considering the mutual interrelation between them.

The study indicates that there exists a significant dyadic relationship between financial performance and social performance for improving the overall performance of the microfinance institutions. Governance is found to unidirectionally influence both financial and social performance. Among all the considered dimensions, financial performance of a microfinance institution is the most critical dimension for improving the overall performance. The top five performance indicators of the Indian microfinance institutions are funding source, borrowing and overhead cost, size of the firm, end-use of the money and depth of outreach.

The study was conducted in the context of Indian microfinance institutions; hence the scope of generalisation of the results is limited. This research considers both subjective and objective aspect of the performance dimensions and indicators from the perspective of multiple stakeholders (i.e. firm, society and regulator). The integrated framework is expected to aid in improving overall performance of microfinance institutions by focusing on the most critical (high prioritised) performance indicators.

An integrated DEMATEL-ANP framework is used in the domain of microfinance to assess the performance dimensions. This study is unique in terms of analysing performance of microfinance institutions from the perspective of heterogeneous stakeholders.