Jaramillo, M. (2014). Guía sobre microfinanzas en América Latina. ELLA. Desarrollo Económico, Microfinanzas.

Globally, developing countries face the problem of providing resources to the poor. Social assistance programmes are one option to solve this problem, but they can generate dependency among the beneficiaries. Microfinance was born in Europe in the 19th century as a cooperative movement involving urban wage labourers and small-scale farmers. Microfinance was adopted in Latin America and in the last decade has grown at a double-digit rate. This guide analyses the concept of microfinance as it has developed in Latin America and highlights its unique characteristics. It describes its recent evolution, the current state of the market and the types of institutions offering microcredit in the region. The guide also describes the standards and practices of these institutions, in order to understand microcredit in a context where neither collateral nor documentation is mandatory. It also analyses the technologies and strategies used by microfinance institutions to increase their profitability and presents what will be the next frontier for this sector: integrating business development support services with microfinance. Finally, it offers useful lessons for other contexts and includes a list of publications and organisations related to the microfinance sector in Latin America.