Abstract:
The course aims at providing a solid theoretical and practical base for students to conduct and/or evaluate development interventions, especially those using financial services as intended poverty reduction tools. With this overall purpose, the main objectives of the course are:
a. To familiarise students with recent literature and debates on the relationship between finance and development, and finance and poverty reduction;
b. To critically examine the concepts of microfinance and financial inclusion and their relevance for access, depth and efficiency of the financial system in Africa;
c. To characterise the challenges and problems of micro, small and medium enterprises and their effects on social and economic development in Africa;
d. To equip learners with the tools for the design of microfinance interventions and evaluation of the effectiveness of microfinance programmes and policies;
e. To identify various approaches to mitigating credit risk in microfinance.
