On the one hand, they represent the needs of the poor population's access to loans and, in this sense, their operations seem selfless and focused on social well-being. On the other hand however, these entities are for-profit economic agents which need to register revenues, to generate funds and to be financially self-sustainable. This need is obvious at the level of all institutions, but even more so at the level of the entities which have share owners for whom they have to increase the value of the equity investments. In this order of ideas, emphasis is often placed on the recuperation of the costs incurred.

The efficiency of the managerial act at microfinance institutions is generally measured with the aid of the operational self-sufficiency ratio, which indicates that lenders are generally able to cover their costs. Some of them are however only able to cover 60 per cent of the incurred...
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