From the mid-1990s until the 2020s microfinance - financial services made available to relatively poor people often excluded from traditional banking - was an important focus of public policy globally. Substantial research was conducted into its positive and negative impact on poverty around the world and into practical ways of assessing this impact. The demise of microfinance can be linked to the rise of digital financial services and its absorption into the wide agenda of promoting 'financial inclusion'.

The collection comprises books, official documents, reports, doctoral theses and grey literature assembled by Professor James Copestake and colleagues based in the Centre for Development Studies at the University of Bath whose work involved collaboration with other UK universities and with microfinance institutions around the world, including in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Ghana, Bolivia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa and the USA.

The collection was donated to the University of Bath by Professor Copestake in 2025.

The collection is not yet fully catalogued. Please email the University Archivist for further details.

Size: 17 boxes (approx).