Impact of three microfinance programs in Uganda

Abstract

During the last decade there has been an upsurge in attention to the provision of microfinance services to microentrepreneurs, especially those from poor households. While the missions of the programs providing the services may vary, most center on improving the economic conditions of the poor. Also there has been attention to the establishment of viable and sustainable organizations that provide microfinance services. By covering their operational costs through interest and fee payments, these organizations have the potential to be sustaining. The growth of microfinance organizations has been accompanied by expectations about the impact of these programs on clients. In the past few years the number of methodologically sound studies of the impact of microfinance programs has increased. These studies provide a better base for understanding the impacts of microfinance programs that take into account their strategies, products, and context. This assessment of three microfinance programs in Uganda seeks to broaden an understanding of whom these programs reach and their impacts. In particular it looks at impacts on the enterprise, household, and client.