Is Micro-finance Development Aid?
by Tamsin Harriman Micro-finance consists of making small loans to very poor people, who would not normally have access to financial services, so that they can grow their small businesses (known as micro-businesses). The goal is that the loan will enable the person to make more money from his or her micro-business, and keep expanding it to the point where the person no longer needs to take out loans, and has risen out of poverty. There is some debate over whether micro-finance constitutes development aid or not. Typically, development aid is thought of as an organization (usually a charity, or a governmental program) either building or donating money for infrastructure, such as a school or better houses, in poor countries. However, according to Wikipedia, the definition is broader: “Development aid or development cooperation […] is aid given by governmental and economic agencies to support the economic, social and political development of developing countries.” Under that definition,
