Developing the Microcredit Market in Poland

This paper synthesizes findings from comprehensive demand and supply studies conducted by Microfinance Centre (MFC) that aimed to understand and address the huge market gap for microfinance in Poland. Almost 2 million low-income households in Poland need microcredit to finance their micoenterprises, while only 3 percent is currently being served.Capital is an important challenge for microentrepreneurs and those aspiring for self-employment. The total value of the potential microcredit market in Poland is estimated to be 36.08 billion zloty. Banks are a major source of business loans, and have the infrastructure to reach these customers. However, they face several constraints in market development. The paper highlights strategies to stimulate demand, but maintains that the key issue for microcredit market development in Poland is the scale up of supply schemes. The paper concludes stating that Poland is not an isolated example in Europe, and that achieving scale is only possible if there are delivery models viable for all stakeholders, especially for commercial players.