The expansion of access to finance and other anti-poverty programming such as cash or asset transfers can have strong impacts on poverty alleviation—but only for certain types of beneficiaries. What do we know about the households or enterprises that are most likely to benefit from these policies, and how to reach them at scale?

This event on May 18, 2021 explored findings from three recent evaluations on poverty traps and how interventions such as microcredit, asset transfers, and an innovative asset-financing mechanism may move the needle on asset accumulation and income generation for poor households. How can microfinance institutions effectively target the households and enterprises most likely to benefit from credit or the addition of an asset? What product innovations can ensure that borrowers can qualify for the appropriate size or type of asset? Can governments effectively scale interventions like asset transfers or access to capital using microfinance institutions? When, and for whom, might certain interventions not be appropriate?

Panelists

• Dr. Muhammad Meki, Lecturer (Assistant Professor), University of Oxford and Dr. Simon Quinn, Associate Professor, University of Oxford: Asset-based Finance for Microenterprises in Pakistan
• Dr. Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor, London School of Economics: Why Do People Stay Poor?
• Dr. Cynthia Kinnan, James L. Paddock Junior Professor in International Economics, Tufts University: Can Microfinance Unlock a Poverty Trap for Some Entrepreneurs?

Read more in this microfinance literature review on VoxDevLit co-authored by Dr. Meki, Dr. Quinn, Dr. Kinnan, and others.

Moderator

• Rebecca Rouse, Director, Financial Inclusion Program, Innovations for Poverty Action

Watch the webinar recording below: