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MICROFINANCE LAW AND REGULATION
 
Vision:
Financial inclusion is more than an economic process: it can also be described as a legal and regulatory reform process. IDLO Microfinance Department believes that obstacles to financial inclusion can be addressed by innovative legal constructions, and that a country’s legal professionals have a primary role to play advocating for the rights of the microfinance consumers.
 
Areas of interest:
 
 
Activities:
 
Mapping: we have built a global regulatory database for financial inclusion.
Technical assistance: thanks to our international perspective and a global network, we now offer regulatory impact assessment studies and legal framework implementation consulting for banking supervisory bodies.
Financial inclusion laboratory: we are financing six projects from our alumni across the globe. These initiatives are pilots for innovative legal solutions to financial inclusion issues.
Research and publications: we use the outcome mapping research methodology, and utilize knowledge generation as a tool to convince, to inform, and eventually to influence behavior of key microfinance stakeholders.
Training: we have significant experience in training legal professionals, microfinance practitioners and law and policy makers on legal aspects of financial inclusion.
E-learning: we are developing and publish distance learning courses to increase the outreach of our trainings.

For more information about IDLO’s Microfinance program, contact the Microfinance Team

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Microfinance Law and Regulation Project
• Regional In-country Training Workshops:  Participants develop and share their expertise on microfinance regulation.  The 12 workshops created an international network of practitioners, sharing knowledge, experience and innovative ideas.  Beneficiaries include local microfinance entities, NGOs, central banks, other bank regulators, think tanks, borrower groups and government law and policymakers • Post-Training Policy Dialogues:  IDLO organizes post-training, cross-regional policy dialogues connecting policymakers and microfinance practitioners to share best practices and innovations.
 
• Summary Seminar in Rome:  This event gathered selected alumni from throughout the world to create and implement in-country projects that strengthen microfinance legal and regulatory frameworks. • Institutional Strengthening Grants:  IDLO provides grants to selected alumni who have successfully completed a microfinance regional training program.  The grants are intended to perpetuate efforts to strengthen the country or region’s legal/regulatory structures and institutions.
Consumer Protection in the Microfinance Industry: Loan Agreements, Dispute Resolutions and Debt Collection Practices
A comparative study of the state of consumer protection laws, regulations and administrative practices in relation to microfinance borrowing by the poor, many of whom are financially if not functionally illiterate.  Survey of law and practice in 20 countries focusing on contracts for microfinance loans, microfinance dispute resolution mechanisms and debt collection practices;  more in-depth research of these issues in Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, India (Tamil Nadu) and Colombia.
Forthcoming Activities