Research results of the thesis

How can regulators and professional associations better support microfinance?

Studies

Findings and concrete ideas for regulators and professional associations in the inclusive finance sector from the doctoral thesis of Tristan Caballero-Montes, "Microfinance Industry Dynamics: Analyses of Regulation, Competition, and Collective Action", supported by ADA.

Tristan Caballero-Montes/ ADA, April 2022

How to combine financial and social objectives while avoiding the excesses of the inclusive finance sector? This is the question Tristan Caballero-Montes addressed in his doctoral thesis. Faced with recurrent criticism of high interest rates, the emergence of crises, or the problem of over-indebtedness, this issue is crucial for practitioners in the sector.

In addition to its organisational functioning such as strategic decision-making or its governance structure, each microfinance institution (MFI) is influenced by sectoral dynamics that strongly condition its practices and performance. The PhD thesis consists of four studies examining three sectoral dynamics affecting MFI practices:

  • regulation,
  • competition
  • and the functioning of professional associations.

This thesis adopts a 'systems' approach, in which the significant interactions between these three dynamics must be considered to support the regulation of the sector.