When economist Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting microfinance in Bangladesh, it was thought that this tool would be the perfect way to help the world's poor people develop economically.
Indeed, in the XXI century and with the rise of globalization, microfinance has other elements, but the spirit remains the same. They have their own methodologies such as financial systems, a variety of credits, savings and products, micro insurance and other basic elements to eradicate poverty in various parts of the world.
This experience has been good in Peru, especially because of what has been done by some religious NGOs and the municipal bank system. Precisely, what was developed by the municipal savings and loan banks more than 27 years ago and the work of various entities, has been cardinal in alleviating not only the poverty of many families, but also in contributing to business formalization.
Now Mibanco is the leading microfinance institution in Peru, but behind this organization was the NGO Acción Comunitaria (ACP), which developed various levels of credit technologies in favor of entrepreneurs through microcredits.
Mibanco is the path that MYPE (Micro and small business) must follow, not only to stay in MYPE but over time to become SMEs (Small and medium businesses) and then into large companies. Mibanco is now a top-tier financial institution, but before it was an NGO.
The MYPE have to be oriented to grow and be big, because the goal of every entrepreneurial entrepreneur must be to export. The money and the buyers with the highest purchasing power for now are out. That must be the goal. For this reason, public policies must be oriented towards the search for foreign markets.
Whatever the political conception of the government administration, the State plays an extremely important role in the establishment of public policies that encourage the development of microfinance services.
The key points that a government can do for microfinance are, among other things, maintain macroeconomic stability, which in the Peruvian case, according to the main economic indicators, is on the right track, despite the international financial crisis.
It should also refrain from distorting the market through unsustainable subsidies and programs that lend themselves to corruption. Why not promote a culture of control that contains the principles of good corporate governance in SMEs? Why not support the microfinance industry as a strategic partner to reduce poverty in rural and Amazon areas? We have the impression that the concept of microfinance is still not very clear in the spheres of government and the traditional financial system.
