The State of Microfinance in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States

This report, examines the progress of microfinance in the Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States (CEE-NIS) region. The four main goals of this study are:

• The creation of an empirically based, comprehensive picture of the current state of the microfinance industry in the CEE-NIS region;
• A comparison of the performance of the region's main organizational models for microfinance delivery;
• An analysis of the main barriers to growth and development confronting microfinance in the region;
• A framework for action for the region's various microfinance actors, the goal being to increase the scale, outreach to the poor, financial viability, and impact of microfinance in the region.

Further, the report studies:

• Background on the development of microfinance in the region;
• The economic context in which microfinance is developing, focusing on the driving forces behind it;
• The key features of the different MFI organizational models;
• The industry's performance and current trends overall by MFI type and by sub-region;
• The extent of poverty outreach by the region's MFIs;
• The MFIs' financial performance and the relationship between poverty outreach and financial sustainability;
• The MFIs access to funding;
• The region's legal and regulatory environment.

Finally, the study:

• Presents an outlook for microfinance over the next decade;
• Makes recommendations aiming to improve this outlook;
• Proposes concrete actions that MFIs, policy makers, donors, and microfinance support organizations could consider as a means of implementing each recommendation.