| Riassunto: | The poor are a diverse group with diverse livelihoods, needs and potential, which change over
time due to lifecycle, new opportunities and external shocks. This diverse and dynamic reality of
poor peoples' lives forms the canvass within which BRAC conceptualizes and designs its
repertoire of development programs, in which microfinance is a core element. This paper
through a few program experiences attempts to reveal the conceptual innovativeness embedded
in the way BRAC thinks and acts about microfinance. It is not only 'microfinance the tool' that
is a powerful poverty-alleviating weapon, but also the institutional framework of microfinance
that is created in delivering microfinance. The extensive outreach, connection, knowledge and
network, that the microfinance institution and the people running it at all levels possess and
generate in their every day working engagements, is an extremely powerful asset in the fight to
overcome poverty. We are only beginning to harness the power embodied in the institutional
capital of microfinance institutions. This will be the second generation challenge for all poverty
focused microfinance institutions and Bangladesh can again lead the way.
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