microfinance
noun
mi·cro·fi·nance
ˌmī-krō-ˈfī-ˌnan(t)s 
-fə-ˈnan(t)s,
-fī-ˈnan(t)s
: financial services especially in the form of microloans provided to impoverished individuals and groups in poor and developing regions
Muhammad Yunus starts lending money to the rural poor in Bangladesh. His Grameen Bank kicks off a worldwide movement in microfinance as lenders start to see poor people, especially women, not as bad credit risks but as profitable customers.—
Barbara Kiviat
Barbara KiviatExamples of microfinance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nearly 17,000 microfinance institutions are in financial difficulty, the central bank governor acknowledged.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
The path eventually led him to Grameen America, the largest and fastest-growing microfinance institution in the U.S.
—Jack McCullough, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Now, 84-year-old Muhammad Yunus, a microfinance pioneer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, is leading an interim government and heading the effort, along with students, to write a new constitution.
—Bymartin Enserink, science.org, 6 Feb. 2025
In an interview, Mr. Yunus, an 84-year-old microfinance pioneer, said his government had the full support of the people.
—Saif Hasnat Atul Loke, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for microfinance
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Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
The path eventually led him to Grameen America, the largest and fastest-growing microfinance institution in the U.S.
—Jack McCullough, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Now, 84-year-old Muhammad Yunus, a microfinance pioneer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, is leading an interim government and heading the effort, along with students, to write a new constitution.
—Bymartin Enserink, science.org, 6 Feb. 2025
In an interview, Mr. Yunus, an 84-year-old microfinance pioneer, said his government had the full support of the people.
—Saif Hasnat Atul Loke, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for microfinance
Cite this Entry
“Microfinance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microfinance. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.
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