(Photo from ID21 Insights)

A very good place for finding case studies, for those not aware of it, is Case Place. The only problem with the service is that quite a few cases are not available, meaning you either have to pay for them or hunt them down through other publishers, and likely pay again. I'm not against these payment systems (we certainly know writers could be paid better), but still, I can't help but have the knee jerk reaction that feels much content like this should be open source and free of charge in order to help other organizations. But that's another discussion.

From searching around at Case Place, I found a few case studies that are accessible on microfinance. Actually, there aren't a ton of cases on this yet, as seems to be the situation in a lot of social entrepreneurial work. Getting good case studies completed, providing that information open source, and helping create best practices, could be an extremely valuable undertaking for some ambitious foundation if they'd like to contribute to the field.

So here are a few case studies worth taking a look at if your own organization is looking into microfinance issues. I'll keep posting these as I find them over time, but here are two right now:

*Bai Tushum Financial Foundation, Kyrgyzstan:

Late in 2002, Bai Tushum Financial Foundation (BTFF), one of Kyrgyzstan's leading microcredit providers, has received an "A" credit rating. Based on this strong rating, BTFF's donor-appointed Board of Directors might instruct the Executive Board to seek commercial financing in the coming year. However, just before the Directors' year-end meeting, doubt strikes Mohammad Junaid, the Director who is also Long-term Advisor to the Executive Board. He queries several financial and ethical matters, including BTFF's high interest rates, stiff collateral requirements, small client base, low productivity, poor base salaries and substantial insider loans.

*CARE Kenya:

On October 14, 2003, George Odo was finally asked the question he most feared: "What will happen to the farmers when CARE leaves?" George was the sector manager for Commercialization of Smallholder Agriculture for CARE Kenya. His vision had seeded the Rural Entrepreneurship and Agribusiness Promotion (REAP) project. By securing export contracts, financing and training farmers, REAP had successfully pulled farmers in Kibwezi, Kenya, over the poverty line. However, CARE financed the projects with grants from Western governments, and George knew that CARE's donors would ultimately withdraw their support. Without the subsidies, the farmers risked returning to their old lives. George had spent many long hours and sleepless nights dwelling on how CARE's involvement in REAP could be commercially viable. George had to identify and implement a business model that was economically sustainable in order to prevent the farmers from falling back into poverty.

These are just two at the site that were accessible without being faculty. Another excellent resource is the SEEP Network. There are a number of reports which you can purchase here on microfinance.

For further reading on the topic of microcredit, here are a few stories I've found lately, some of which are a few years old, but still relevant.

*Micro Loans for the Very Poor, from the New York Times in 1997, found at the Grameen website.

*Microloans Could Fuel Macro Results, from Entrepreneur.com, in 2002.

*Micro Loans: A Way to Finance Your Business, at Power Home Biz.