I don't think I completely understand the article on microfinance that you have recently shared. I am going to re-read it again but just wanted to ask if you have any other article saved that may help. Thank you. And have a good day.
microfinance is when financial institutions give small loans to individuals without collateral (ie, poor people.) the idea was pioneered by mohammed yunus, the pitch being that women (who often don't own any property to collateral and don't have formal jobs for payday loans particulary in the global south) could get these small loans that normal banks aren't interested in lending to buy, say, chickens or a sewing machine and increase their economic productivity. the idea is we extend credit to the poor excluded from it and change their lives for the better. the article says that these small loan systems have become a debt trap, people get one loan to pay off another and are used for daily spending with very predatory algorithmic designs. they don't really stimulate economic productivity and basically extract money from the poorest. the reality is these microfinance banks prefer to lend to women (~99% of loans) because they manage households on behalf of absent men, can't easily migrate to default on their loans and are more subject to social shame and ostracism when debt collectors turn up.
