Studies have long focused on poverty alleviation in different ways. Development Economics has tried to formulate and suggest a number of theories which try to tackle the problem of poverty and development. One of the most discussed themes of this century in this field is Microfinance.
Microfinance or Microcredit is about banking the un-bankable, bringing credit, savings and other essential financial services with the reach of tens or rather hundreds of millions of people who are too poor to be served by regular banks, in most cases because they are unable to offer sufficient collateral (Gert van Maanen, Microcredit: Sound Business or Development Instrument, 2004.)