Access to Justice in Microfinance

This book analyzes the whole path to justice: from the decision to enter the path to justice until justice is achieved and applies a mixed-methods approach using quantitative and qualitative data. It deliberately takes the consumer’s perspective and, beyond the scope of existing studies, does not only take into account the existence of mechanisms and forums to claim justice, but their appropriateness for vulnerable target groups. The book sheds more light on microfinance and other vulnerable clients who, due to existing barriers, cannot access grievance, redress or complaint mechanisms. Eliminating these access barriers would cater to the achievement of the 16th Sustainable Development Goal by increasing vulnerable consumers’ Access to Justice.  This book will be of interest to academics researching access to justice, researchers focusing on consumer protection issues in developing countries,  and practitioners working in financial inclusion.

• Analytical framework for Access to Justice research
• Vulnerable financial consumers
• Access to justice in Peru
• Appropriateness of grievance and redress mechanisms
• Microfinance client protection
• Voicing of complaints
• development finance

• Free University Berlin (D 188), Berlin, Germany

  Yasmin Olteanu

Yasmin Olteanu completed her PhD at the Institute for Latin American Studies of Free University Berlin, Germany, with magna cum laude. Her doctoral project focused on the empowerment of vulnerable financial consumers. As scientific coordinator of the University Meets Microfinance project at the Free University Berlin she developed seminars on Bachelor’s and Master’s level and taught them in several European universities, while also being responsible for the project’s publications and workshops. As well as her academic achievements, Yasmin has significant operational experience in Africa and Latin America, especially in Nigeria and Madagascar where she founded new microfinance banks for LFS Financial Systems, in Rwanda where she introduced solar microleasing for SOLARKIOSK, and in Peru as Microfinance Investment Officer for Triple Jump.

Policies and ethics