Microfinance Focus, December 28, 2011: David Roodman’s book ‘Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance’ will be launched in Washington on January 5, 2012. The event is part of a collaboration between The MasterCard Foundation, CGAP, and the Center for Global Development to support the publication of the book.

Microfinance experts including Nancy Birdsall, Center for Global Development, Daryl Collins, Bankable Frontier Associates, Martin Holtmann, Microfinance, Global Financial Markets Department IFC, Michael Schlein, ACCION International and Richard Rosenberg, Senior Advisor, CGAP will be present for the book launch and discussion.

David Roodman, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development currently focusing on microfinance wrote Due Diligence through an "open book" blog, where he shared questions, discoveries, and chapter drafts.

In his book, Roodman says that while financial services are no more likely to lift people out of poverty than clean water and electricity, the microfinance movement has built thriving industries that deliver valuable services to millions of poor people. The challenge going forward is to help microfinance play to its strengths. In general, that calls for putting less money into microcredit, to avoid credit bubbles and increase the incentive for microfinance institutions to take savings deposits.