4 key points why microfinance in Ghana may miss the poverty reduction objective

The regions noted for high number of poor people have the least number of microfinance Institutions. More than 90% of the MFIs are located in the urban centers competing the universal banks over the same customers.

The characteristic of the clients being targeted by MFIs are  mostly people above the poverty line with majority of them having the ability to spend USD 2.0 per day.

Regulation of MFI in Ghana does not encourage MFI to keep focus on improving the social aspect of microfinance. There is no much diffrence between the Universal and microfinance regulation. The social aspect that MFIs can address are the strong elements that informs whether a microfinance can achieve the necessary impact. Credit does not directly  lead to better nutrition or improvement in financial literacy. The training received by microfinance client is what informs them to be able to make the most important choices including how to better manage the credit they receive.

MFI staff today are more traditional banking oriented than developmentally oriented. They serve clients of MFIs just the same way they will serve universal bank clients.