CERMi - Centre for European Research in Microfinance
CERMi (Centre Européen de Recherche en Microfinance / Centre for European Research in Microfinance), draws together researchers, involved in microfinance activities in developing countries, from the Centre Emile Bernheim (Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles) and from the Warocqué Research Centre (Warocqué School of Business and Economics, Université de Mons). CERMi also collaborates closely with the European Microfinance Programme (EMP).
Microfinance provides financial services, including credit, savings and insurance, to poor customers with little or no access to the traditional banking sector. It has come to be regarded as a very important component of strategies aimed at reducing poverty. Over the last twenty years, the microfinance industry has experienced rapid growth creating a constant demand for new knowledge to help guide its development.
CERMi, which is part of the Académie Universitaire Wallonie-Bruxelles, was created with the goal to become an active participant in this process. It aims to study the management of a wide range of microfinance financial institutions, represented by NGOs, cooperatives, self-help groups, and commercial companies. Thanks to an interdisciplinary approach, CERMi hopes to make substantive contributions to the body of knowledge on microfinance, which should help the industry deal more effectively with its future challenges.
From a microeconomic and managerial perspective, CERMi is undertaking research on institutional aspects including governance and risk management of microfinance institutions, as well as the concept of a client-driven approach toward the development of financial services and products. From a macroeconomic and sociological point of view, CERMi focuses on matters of regulation and local government policy, as well as the roles played by central banks and international donors. Links between microfinance and the traditional banking sector are also analysed, and throughout this research, special attention is given to ethical considerations that are specifically relevant and critical to the evolution of the microfinance industry.
Go to CERMi's website : www.cermi.eu
Coming events at CERMi
- Tuesday, May 8, 2012: "Labor arrangements and financial inclusion of agricultural workers in a dynamic agricultural region in Mexico : exploring the linkages"
Paper presentation by Prof. Solène MORVANT-ROUX (Université de Fribourg, CH)
At 12.30pm in Seminar Room R42.2.110 (SBS-EM, ULB)
- Monday, May 14, 2012 : "Microfinance and Women's Empowerment"
Debate with Mrs. Ela BHATT (SEWA - Self-Employed Women's Association, India)
At 2.00pm in Seminar Room R42.2.110 (SBS-EM, ULB)
More information about these seminars
Please confirm your presence in advance to cermi [at] ulb [dot] ac [dot] be. Thank you.
Latest Working Papers
- WP-CEB: N°12-017 - Jessica Schicks,
Over-Indebtedness in Microfinance – An Empirical Analysis of Related Factors on the Borrower Level
- WP-CEB: N°12-015 - Marion Allet,
Why Do Microfinance Institutions Go Green?