MicroLending
Micro-Lending is a range of social policy initiatives in which public or non-profit agencies use credit as a tool to further develop the self-esteem of people excluded from ordinary economic activity. Objectives such as social welfare, employment, urban development, financial education are used to advance business initiatives by private individuals seeking to earn their living through independent work. The primary purpose of Micro-Lending is therefore not banking but it does incorporate core banking functions, such as lending, deposit-taking or guarantee business.
The concept of micro credit can be traced back to the end of the World War II and even back to several organizations that started in the 1970. The most well known institution providing micro loans today is the Grameen Bank in India founded by Muhammad Yunus as a response to the devastating poverty in his country. The success of Grameen model has inspired similar efforts throughout the developing world and even in industrialized nations including the United States.
Today the World Bank estimates that there are more than 7,000 microfinance institutions serving some 16 million poor people in developing countries. Financial development and poverty alleviation is a central aspect of this program in the development and transformation of the financial sector. Financial sector development is critical because access to financial services is an important factor in the accumulation of capital among many societies and has been shown to reduce vulnerability to extreme poverty. 
