Proposal Paper for the XXI Century: Solidarity Finance

The interventions of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the Northern countries have set up a link between « savers » (those who possess financial assets) and borrowers (those who are lacking in such assets) by conferring an ethical nature to savings. The social link is created between populations with financial means (the wealthy) and those excluded from traditional financial circuits (the poor). In the countries of the South, microfinance programs only intervene among ‘poor’ people or those excluded from traditional banking systems. For such individuals, these social links constitute an important investment toward their integration and lasting participation in both society as a whole and the economy. Currently, as the euphoria of solidarity finance is fading and the sector has reached a crossroads, it is essential to tackle this issue, both in the North and in the South, from a social perspective that takes social links and social capital into account.