[Access to Financial Services in particular for the poor through Microfinance:

An empirical study on Asia]

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance; without which this research would not have been possible.



DECLARATION

I [type your full name here], declare that the following dissertation and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort, and have not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion on the topic and does not represent the opinion of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

Micro-finance is designed to facilitate the poor in getting funds and initiating business ventures or enterprises. However accessibility of the poor to these opportunities is a growing concern that must be addressed. It is one of the aims of this particular study to make known to the readers about what microfinance actually is, how it alleviates poverty. The research project gave a brief but comprehensive introduction to microfinance, its models and approaches and different reviews of literature in order to show its significance. This review also contained other issues that micro finance industry faces, including different concepts of micro finance, different approaches of providing micro finance services. Micro finance is an important tool towards alleviating poverty; this concept has been proved by answering different question concerning micro finance, this has been done by using statistical analysis and through investigation of primary and secondary data. The conclusion related to this was that it microfinance is one of the most important tool to alleviate poverty, and it has the potential to give access to newer opportunities and uniform income distributions. Therefore, it is recommended that the micro-Financing Institutions should operate more effectively, since they play an important role in the welfare of the economy while assisting the poor in their financial hardships and miseries.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT2

DECLARATION3

ABSTRACT4

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION7

Research Aims and Objectives8

Research Hypothesis9

Areas of Investigation9

Outline of the Study10

Ethical Considerations11

Limitations13

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW15

Microfinance16

The Structure of Microfinance19

Microfinance Models and Methods20

Dual Missions of Micro-Finance Institutions22

Role of Banks in Promoting Micro finance23

Poverty Reduction through Micro-finance25

Different Approaches for Micro-finance27

Criticisms of Microfinance31

Impact of Microfinance on Developing Economies36

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODLOGY40

Research Methods40

Qualitative Research Method41

Quantitative Research Method41

Research Design42

Search Technique43

Ethical Consideration44

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALSYIS45

Opportunities of financing offered by microfinance institutions and schemes in developing Asian countries54

Challenges that hinder the poor people in accessing these services59

CHAPTER 5: CONCLSUION AND RECOMMENDATIONS64

Overcoming Challenges and Limitations in micro-financing accessibility by the Poor66

REFERENCES70

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

“Money makes money. When you have got a little, it is often easy to get more. The great difficulty is to get that little” (Smith, 1976, Book I, Chapter IX, pg.111)

Microfinance comes as a blessing to the poverty-stricken people, living in Asia. Utilizing the grants of financial institutions, they are able to do some business in order to make both ends meet. This is very influential in eradicating or at least, stabilizing the poverty-stricken people; who, otherwise, do not possess sufficient financial resources to pursue their livelihoods. This si the stage where micro-financing comes in, in the shapes of technical assistance, ...