Toward a performance assessment of microfinance institutions in Europe

Although many of the issues of microfinance in the developed world are similar to those in the developing world, the policy motivations behind the funding and support may result in alternative methodologies being established. For example, Western governments’ usually provide extensive Welfare State networks for the poorest members of their societies, while sophisticated financial systems mean that the majority of the population are served by mainstream financial providers. Thus, funding for microfinance generally aims to either encourage entrepreneurship among the socially excluded or address issues of financial exclusion.