Abstract
Entrepreneurial and business skills are widely recognized as important prerequisites for successful microbusiness entrepreneurship in developing countries and, therefore, loan repayment rates of microfinance institution (MFI) debtors. In the literature, it remains, however, unclear exactly what set of skills are most important. The present paper examines the extent to what microfinance debtors and loan officers agree on the relevance of various entrepreneurial and business skills for microbusiness performance and loan repayment. Results from two focus group discussions show that neither microfinance debtors nor loan officers agree on the ranking of skills. This suggests that microfinance debtors have specific needs for training and skills development, which, consequently, should be addressed on an individual basis. For loan officers to be effective in their duties of evaluating loan applications and supporting microfinance debtors, they need training to better understand the relevance of entrepreneurial and business skills for microfinance debtors’ loan repayment probabilities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Microfinance for Entrepreneurial Development |
| Subtitle of host publication | Sustainability and Inclusion in Emerging Markets |
| Place of Publication | Cham |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Pages | 73-85 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9783319621111 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9783319621104 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 18 Oct 2017 |
