Serrano-Cinca, C. and Gutiérrez-Nieto, B. (2014): "Microfinance, the long tail and mission drift", International Business Review, Vol 23 (1), pp 181-194

Discussion Paper: ULB, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Working Papers CEB, No 11-024.

Abstract Poor people were excluded from financial services until microfinance institutions (MFIs) emerged. The mission of MFIs is to alleviate poverty, contributing to women empowerment, especially in rural communities. Microcredits can be analyzed under Pareto’s 80/20 Principle. Their clients are situated in the long tail of the wealth distribution function. This niche market is not very attractive, because of its high administrative costs, lack of deposits and the need for compensating low revenues with fluctuating subsidies. Some MFIs have drifted from their mission. This paper presents a model to explain microfinance mission drift, tested with hypotheses. The results from the empirical study show a pattern of mission centered MFI: a small NGO, with labor productivity, receiving donations and obtaining a high yield. It can be concluded that there is a need for reducing interest rates. According to the long tail theory, this could be done by using efficient technology, as it has been achieved in the e-commerce sector. Keywords Microfinance, financial ratios, outreach, social performance, mission drift, long tail, bankruptcy   Download (Discussion paper: https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/107018/3/wp12001.pdf) Paper: (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096959311300053X)