Abstract:
This paper compares the role of microfinance schemes in developing and developed country contexts. Research and reporting on microfinance programmes in developing countries is vast, but there is currently little on record of similar schemes in developed country settings. This paper contributes a new angle to the burgeoning literature by offering a small case study of Australia’s Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services’ NILS scheme which was recently invited to be involved in the establishment of New Zealand’s first formal microfinance programme, Nga Tangata Microfinance.
