Rural Finance Policies 12 - Design and sustainability issues of rural credit and savings programs: findings from Malawi

Joint liability group lending is currently the lending technology of choice of microfinance institutions because of the success of the Grameen Bank, which is using the technology to successfully lend to millions of poor Bangladeshi women. The analysis and findings presented in this brief are the results of research undertaken by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Bunda College of Agriculture on the practice and performance of joint liability group lending in Malawi. This research provides evidence on the extent to which peer selection, peer monitoring, and peer pressure are taking place in the credit groups affiliated to the Malawi Rural Finance Company (MRFC), the main microfinance institution in Malawi, and their impact on the joint liability on loan repayment.