Microfinance in Cambodia: Investors' Playground or Force for Financial Inclusion?

This paper examines the impact of the growth of the microfinance sector on financial inclusion in Cambodia. It analyzes several trends of microfinance in the country, including the cumulative shareholding pattern of 14 commercial MFIs, average loan balances as a proportion of GDP, distribution of borrowers by loan size, MFIs' contribution to domestic credit, and MFIs' outreach and geographical coverage. The paper concludes that while international investors may have gone to Cambodia attracted by the liberal regulatory framework and approach of the government and the National Bank, the net effect of the inflow of foreign capital into the microfinance sector has been growing and it already makes an impressive contribution to financial inclusion.