Impact of Microfinance on Poverty Alleviation

Poverty poses a major threat to the development of the economy in the world. In view of Millennium Development Goals of reducing extreme poverty and hunger the microfinance and micro-enterprise development assume importance in poverty alleviation. It widens the financial services delivery system by linking the large number of rural population particularly people living in Below Poverty Line (BPL) with formal financial institutions through Self-Help Groups. However there was an absence of micro-entrepreneurship training to explore possibilities of setting up specialized small business activities or social enterprises for the development of rural economy.