Resurgence of an Ancient Idea? A Study on the History of Microfinance

Abstract

Microfinance revolution, as it was frequently called, did not happen overnight. Microfinance has a long history of evolution, from a simple idea to a global movement, through which it came into the present shape. But much of its history is yet to be written systematically. In fact, there is no historical research so far from the perspective of microfinance. Little is thus known about the early history of some of the oldest forms of lending to the poor. The current study offers a historical look at microfinance and aims at documenting the evolution of modern microfinance institutions. The object of the research is to recognize the historical depth of microfinance and give a picture of how this idea emerged and developed overtime. The study reveals that moneylending to the poor was always in existence in various forms in different periods of time in both developing and developed countries. It has a long history, particularly in Asia but also in Africa and Europe.