This project has ended. This website is a project archive and is not being actively administered. Publications and data remain available for download as indicated.
Introduction
The Financial Services Assessment project is designed to examine the impact of financial services on the lives of poor people across the developing world. This project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is committed to building a deep base of knowledge in the microfinance field.
The IRIS Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, together with its partner Microfinance Opportunities, is assessing a diverse range of innovations in financial services funded by the Gates Foundation. This project creates a unique opportunity to extract valuable lessons from a wide range of products, technologies, delivery systems, and countries.
The results of this project are also shedding light on the design and delivery of appropriate financial products and services for the poor. The results are further providing potential to increase successful innovations to reach larger numbers of low-income households. This project is scheduled to continue through 2011.
