MICROFINANCING AS A POVERTY REDUCTION TOOL

Abstract

This study is conveyed in order to examine the microfinance perceptions in the country based on a survey that gives answers to a set of questions related to the general characteristics of the poor households, their problems, needs, savings, borrowing and financial exclusion. The findings underline some issues concerning the availability of financial resources offered by the financial institutions in RM to the citizens, with particular focus on microfinance and its use for improvement of the financial and economic situation of the citizens. The results show very low consumption of the financial institutions’ offer in the country. In addition, the concept of microfinance is not widely known by the people in Republic of Macedonia – just 2% in the sample have borrowed from MFI. As a result, a number of policy issues should be considered by MFIs and the government regarding the improvement of the outreach, the impact, and the legal background of the concept of microfinance in order to offer the citizens better availability to microcredits and loans.