Andrew Mitchell MP has a good article on microfinance - something we at the GI have been advocating - in today’s Times newspaper. He writes:

Capacity building for budding microfinance suppliers is a worthy use of aid and development funding. We should use it for developing innovative microfinance initiatives that target specific communities such as the extreme poor: Grameen has loans on concessionary terms out to nearly 10,000 Bangladeshi beggars.

Microfinance is no panacea for the reduction of poverty. But the Grameen Bank and other Bangladeshi organisations such as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC, the largest NGO in the world) have led the way. Lifting people out of poverty is not just about giving aid and a handout. It is about offering opportunity and hope. Marjina Begum [who is talked about in the article] had that opportunity. We should ensure that many others do too.