Cambodia’s Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, amid claims that that overlending to poor borrowers, who can ill-afford to repay, has resulted in land seizures and the further immiseration of the poor.
Ron Bevacqua is an accomplished economist and the author of “Building an Inclusive Financial Sector,” a new book about the microfinance industry in Cambodia, which is available through the National Bank of Cambodia.
Contrary to widespread opinion, Bevacqua argues that Cambodia’s MFIs are not necessarily in crisis, but nor should microfinance be seen as a panacea for poverty.
