Beyond Ending Poverty : World Bank Publications : 9781464808944 : 1464808945 : 30 Sep 2016 : The recent past has witnessed phenomenal growth in microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world. Today, as many as 200 million people are beneficiaries of microfinance. With its worldwide attention, microfinance has also received serious criticism, including that it is a fad with less-than-expected benefits for the poor. Surely, microfinance is not without limitations. Yet the premise of improving access by the poor to financial services for consumption smoothing has never been a subject of controversy. What has been controversial is whether microfinance can alleviate poverty. That the poor lack an effective and affordable alternative financing mechanism to support income generation does not necessarily mean microfinance is a panacea, since it involves entrepreneurial skills, which many poor people lack. It is little wonder that studies evaluating the benefits of microfinance have produced