Resumen de Community-based financial services: a spectrum of providers
In recent years, stakeholders have increasingly acknowledged that formal financial institutions are not always able to address the financial service needs of the very poor, particularly those living in remote areas. Small transaction sizes, sparse populations, and poor infrastructure limit the ability of commercial banks and others to reach rural areas where many of the world's poorest and most marginalized populations live. This paper explores the experience in Tajikistan, where a number of different types of financial service providers and civil society organizations play an important role in meeting a variety of financial service needs and market segments. It proposes that in order to increase financial inclusion, community-based providers and collective organizations are necessary to overcome high costs and cumbersome procedures required by regulated providers and thereby contribute to the development of the financial system.
