Board Composition and Social Performance of Microfinance Institutions: Evidence from East Africa

Abstract

Board composition and poverty outreach of MFIs appear to be related. The proportion of independent, international, female, and/or founding board members appears to be associated with measures of outreach performance using data on MFIs in East Africa. Findings suggest that outreach performance is improved when MFI boards have a higher share of independent, international, and/or female members, which supports the hypothesis that board composition is important in helping MFIs to achieve their social objectives.