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Author(s):
William Maddocks

William O. Maddocks, SMDP Coordinator, Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire, USA Microfinance has a long history as a development tool that can address a wider range of social problems beyond access to credit. Several MFIs large and small have been able to make headway in solving seemingly intractable social problems, including begging, domestic violence, HIV, and discrimination against the disabled, while maintaining financial sustainability. The vast majority of the institutions that have been able to blend financial services and social programming have done so by using group-based methodologies. The cases examined in this paper are as follows: Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF)/Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity (IMAGE) in South Africa National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) We Can Manage program Grameen Struggling Members (Beggars) program BRAC’s Targeting the Ultra-Poor program and Graduation Model Pilot Projects