Cambodia

Cambodia is home to 13.8 million people, with the vast majority of its population living in rural areas. According to the World Bank, Cambodia is likely to have the greatest increase in poverty of any country in Southeast Asia, much of it being caused by the global economic downturn. In addition to the global economic influences, Cambodia’s financial sector is underdeveloped, making it more difficult to adequately serve the financial needs of a country with a large rural population. The majority of its rural population has almost no access to formal forms of financial services.

• 85 percent of the population live in rural areas
• 36 percent of Cambodians live in poverty

Photo credit CIA Factbook

The economic downturn has affected the growth of the microfinance sector. Hiring has slowed substantially and the number of loans is expected to increase at a much slower pace. It is estimated that the total demand for credit by micro- and small-business entrepreneurs could amount to US$100-125 million. Only 45 to 55 percent of this amount is provided by existing providers of financial services.

Grameen Foundation's Progress out of Poverty™ (PPI™) Index is enabling microfinance institutions to evaluate their clients and make sure they are moving out of poverty.