The Other Side of Microcredit

Sam Daley-Harris, Director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign and author of several Kumarian Press books including More Pathways Out of Poverty, was interviewed on the Kojo Nnamdi show yesterday about recent scandals in India involving microfinance. He was joined by Center for Global Development Research Fellow David Roodman. Listen to the interview here.

And here's Roodman's take on the Indian Microcredit Crisis:

Perhaps the heedlessly expanding Indian microcredit industry deserved a smackdown. But what matters most is not what is fair to the microcreditors but what is best for the poor. The Indian government has built an impressive 50-year track record failing to meet the financial service needs of the poor. Under the right circumstances the private sector can help fill the gap. The goal should be to reform microfinance, not kill it.