Poverty and Globalization Study: Cases Bolivia and Nicaragua

These ‘International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions (INAFI) case studies aim to investigate the following topics:

• Poverty and globalization;
• Systematization of experiences of the affiliated regions, which include Latin America, Africa, Asia and a sub-region in Eastern Europe.

The investigations aim to describe:

• Microfinance programs that aim to alleviate poverty in these countries;
• The causes that originate poverty in each country and the causes of the economic crisis affecting the countries in these regions;
• The effects of globalization on the microfinance sector.

The document begins by presenting the general framework of poverty in Latin America. The case studies of Bolivia and Nicaragua examine:

• Poverty, globalization, adjustment and structural reforms;
• The ‘micro-company as an answer to the crisis and poverty in the country;
• The development of microfinance in the two countries.

The case studies conclude by describing the following microfinancial necessities in the time of globalization:

• Promoting employment;
• Fighting against poverty and exclusion;
• Achieving depth and sustainability in rural finance;
• Helping the process of integration through the entailment of different organizations;
• Financial development of markets and products;
• Transparency;
• Technology and efficiency;
• Development of an appropriate regulatory frame.