It’s been quite a while since we looked at entry level jobs in microfinance. I’m not sure whether the recession has had something to do with it, but it seems that there has been a lot less buzz about microfinance over the past year or two than there was in the preceding years. Maybe it’s just me. For those of you who don’t know what microfinance is, Wikipedia defines it as “the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services.” Put more simply, it’s the act of lending small amounts of investment capital to people who wouldn’t have been able to borrow money in the past. Microfinance is a great alternative to many other forms of aid, because it helps build economic foundations that respond to market incentives. MicroFinance Transparency is a Lancaster, PA based non-profit organization that is working to ensure that the field of microfinance stays true to its goals of helping to alleviate poverty. Because microfinance is unregulated and fragmented, MicroFinance Transparency acts as a watchdog that promotes transparency in the industry.

MicroFinance Your Job Search

MicroFinance Transparency’s main activity is collecting and reporting data, and most of the data that they focus on is related to the interest rates of microfinance loans. The reason for this is that microfinance and payday loans aren’t all that different in theory; however, it’s the interest rates and the intention of the loans that supposedly make microfinance a poverty alleviation tool (while payday loans likely exacerbate poverty). The best way to get the full rundown of how MicroFinance Transparency works is to read through their Frequently Asked Questions. That’ll tell you nearly everything you need to know about why they’re doing what they’re doing, and if it’s not enough, there’s plenty more on the the MicroFinance Transparency website. If you like what you see, you’ll probably want to check out their Jobs page. Right now they have two positions posted, but they’re both located in Africa—Accra, Ghana to be exact. The positions are Administrative Assistant and Research Associate, and both seem like they might be interesting for an adventurous new grad. Check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• MFTransparency.org
• Jobs at MicroFinance Transparency
• About MicroFinance Transparency
• Staff at MicroFinance Transparency
• MicroFinance Transparency News
• MicroFinance Transparency’s FAQ
• MicroFinance Transparency’s Blog
• MicroFinance Transparency Resources

Have you ever participated in microfinance?

We've identified MicroFinance Transparency as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• administrative
• all employers
• international
• microfinance
• non-profit
• Pennsylvania
• research

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