Microcredit: an answer to the gender problem in funding?

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) target poor people, excluded from the banking system. By giving them starting capital, they should thus enable a greater number of women to create their own business, but also in sectors traditionally reserved for men due to the initial capital they require. Our study covers a portfolio of 3,640 microcredits in France over the 2000-2006 period. It identifies microfinance institutions' client profiles, brings to light the men/women differences and compares them to a wider sample of entrepreneurs. We show that the men/women gap found amongst company creators is maintained amongst clients of MFIs. We also demonstrate that the gender criterion is a decisive factor of the amount of the microcredit when compared to the borrower and firm profile. To a certain extent, MFI thus reproduce gender inequalities