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International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2225-8329

Does Lending Pattern of Microfinance Institutions to Women borrowers Differ Across Region?

Zarith Sofia Jasmi, Nur Rifhan A. Rahim, Nur Hanisah Mohamad Razali, Hafizuddin Md Dali, Nurfarhana Hassan

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v12-i3/15102

Open access

A growing number of studies have been critical of gender imbalance in microfinance practices, motivating this paper to identify the lending pattern of each type of Microfinance Institutions (Microfinance Institutions-bank, cooperatives or credit union, non-government organisations, non-bank financial institutions, rural banks and others) across six regions: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and South Asia (SA). By using data of 9, 982 MFI-years observations from Mix Market database, this paper shows the trend of MFIs lending in SSA, EAP, EECA, LAC, are dominating by NGOs. Interestingly, Non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) are competing with NGOs in serving women borrowers in MENA and South Asia region.