microfinance
noun
mi·cro·fi·nance
ˌmī-krō-ˈfī-ˌnan(t)s 
-fə-ˈnan(t)s,
-fī-ˈnan(t)s
: financial services especially in the form of microloans provided to impoverished individuals and groups in poor and developing regions
Muhammad Yunus starts lending money to the rural poor in Bangladesh. His Grameen Bank kicks off a worldwide movement in microfinance as lenders start to see poor people, especially women, not as bad credit risks but as profitable customers.—
Barbara Kiviat
Barbara KiviatExamples of microfinance in a Sentence
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The protest group say the interim government should be led by Yunus, a social entrepreneur and banker who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering microfinance work that helped alleviate poverty in Bangladesh.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 6 Aug. 2024
Instead, workers are given microfinance loans, with which they are expected to build businesses and pay themselves.
—Mara Kardas-Nelson, The Dial, 8 Apr. 2025
With microfinance, for example, finding ways of lending larger sums for longer periods at lower rates would surely make many businesses more sustainable and profitable.
—Christopher Blattman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2014
Nearly 17,000 microfinance institutions are in financial difficulty, the central bank governor acknowledged.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for microfinance
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Helen Regan, CNN, 6 Aug. 2024
Instead, workers are given microfinance loans, with which they are expected to build businesses and pay themselves.
—Mara Kardas-Nelson, The Dial, 8 Apr. 2025
With microfinance, for example, finding ways of lending larger sums for longer periods at lower rates would surely make many businesses more sustainable and profitable.
—Christopher Blattman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2014
Nearly 17,000 microfinance institutions are in financial difficulty, the central bank governor acknowledged.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for microfinance
Cite this Entry
“Microfinance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microfinance. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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