At the same time, it seeks to build up the capacity of African research institutes to undertake work in this field. National Steering Committees, that will supervise the research, have been formed in each of the countries and will soon proceed to select the National Research Teams that will conduct the research. The transaction costs involved in these substitutes may, however, be a major obstacle for a more widespread application. Research is currently being undertaken to assess the transaction costs for different types of collateral the cost-increasing effects of the respective legal and regulatory framework governing collaterisation. The results show that self selection by poor households applying for loans or conditional micro-grants has a powerful effect on income growth.
Clients are usually well informed about the risks and benefits of taking on increased debt.
The income and asset changes in both groups are comparable. There was a clear improvement for both in comparison to control groups. . The gender dimension of micro finance is about using micro finance as a tool to empower women. Impact assessments from various countries have shown that access to credit does not automatically lead to control over the use of the loans, nor over the use of the surplus generated. Often women only serve as a vehicle for male relatives to access loans.