BOI Publications

An exploration of current research and writing on the issue of sustainability in the microenterprise field.

Explores innovative ways that technology can be used by both microenterprise development programs and microentrepreneurs

This white paper examines ways credit scoring can help U.S. microlenders increase efficiency, improve risk management and achieve greater scale.

If for-profit lenders succeed in taking away the microenterprise field’s lowestrisk customers, this will raise costs and loss rates, making the path toward self-sufficiency in lending even more difficult.

This publication, a product of the CDFI Data Project, documents the work of 517 community development finance institutions (CDFIs) investing $3.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2004, an investment linked to 28,000 jobs and 43,000 units of affordable housing.

Explores the various factors that affect an organization’s ability to reach scale and offers recommendations for funders interested in this issue.

Explores the need for programs to become more entrepreneurial in order to achieve greater sustainability and suggests ways donors can support such efforts.

Explores how one microenterprise development organization (West Company in northern California) is helping low-income microentrepreneurs document their participation in the economy and take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Microenterprise development is a process of supporting emerging entrepreneurs to develop and grow small businesses.

To forge a vibrant future, the U.S. microenterprise field must move in new directions.