Microcredit

Microcredit

A form of lending that originated in the 1970s with small loans made to very small enterprises in Bangladesh, called micro-enterprises, with the intention of alleviating high poverty levels. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) issue micro-loans that have higher-than-normal interest rates meant to cover the high costs associated with issuing small loans. Given that the purpose of microcredit is to be a poverty relief mechanism, individuals with low credit scores who lack capital and steady employment are then able to receive loans to develop their enterprises. See: Microfinance

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Microcredit

The practice of making loans to extremely poor persons to help them rise from poverty through entrepreneurship. That is, one may make a loan of, say, $25 which gives someone the start-up capital necessary to make something small to sell. Microcredit loans are usually either interest-free or carry interest that does not compound. Additionally they offer flexible repayment plans; generally one is asked to pay anything one can so long as one pays something. Microcredit is most common in the developing world; it started in Bangladesh in the 1970s. See also: Grameen Bank, Mohammed Yunus.