I have participated in the intermediate phase of this project, between December 2009 and April 2011. The project, led by A. Marr ( University of Greenwich) was funded by Leverhulme Trust.

Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients, particularly women in developing countries, who would otherwise have limited access to them. Microfinance institutions offer these services, primarily loans to support small businesses.

In this project, network analysis tools have been used to map collaboration partnerships of microfinance institutions with external providers of funding, particularly wholesale lenders. The goal is to understand how inter-organisational financial flows contribute to improving microfinance institutions’ capacity to tackle poverty while also ensuring financial sustainability. Focus is on three countries, namely Peru, India and Tanzania, in partnership with one local microfinance institution in each of them.

As part of this project, I have conducted fieldwork  in India and Tanzania (January 2011), built a multi-year database of wholesale lending ties in microfinance for the three countries concerned, and co-organised the conference “Global Partnerships in Microfinance”, which took place at the University of Greenwich, London, in September 2010. I have also co-authored some papers and presentations:

A. Marr, P. Tubaro (2013). The microfinance wholesale lending market: a comparative study of India, Peru and Tanzania. International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 5 (1). pp. 55-74 [abstract].

Marr A., Tubaro P. (2012). Global financial partnerships in microfinance: India, Peru and Tanzania. Iberoamerican Journal of Development Studies, 1 (1) : 29-57 [publisher's text, open access].

A. Marr, P. Tubaro (2011). Crisis in Indian microfinance and a way forward: Governance reforms and the Tamil Nadu model. Journal of International Development, 23(7): 996-1003 [publisher's text, restricted; working paper version].

A. Marr, P. Tubaro (2011). Wholesale funding to microfinance and social development goals in Peru, Tamil Nadu and Tanzania. Enterprise Development and Microfinance, 22(4): 304-321 [publisher's text, restricted; abstract].

A. Marr, P. Tubaro (2011). Escape the low-growth trap? Microfinance in Tanzania. Project report [full text].

A. Marr, P. Tubaro (2010). Inter-organisational networks in microfinance: Lending partnerships in India, Peru and Tanzania. In Cahier de Recherche de l’ORIO, Actes de la 1ère journée d’études de l’ORIO, CNRS-IRISSO. E. Lazega (ed.). N. 1: 171-191 [slides].

A. Marr, P. Tubaro. Global Financial Partnerships in Microfinance: India, Peru and Tanzania. Presentation at the conference Global Partnerships in Microfinance, University of Greenwich, 6 September 2010 [slides].

P. Tubaro. Optimising the dual goals of microfinance: A network dynamics approach, 6th ECRP-DANL Meeting, UAB, Barcelona, Spain, 6-8 April 2010 [slides].