microlendingn.
/ˈmʌɪkrə(ʊ)ˌlɛndɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈmaɪkroʊˌlɛndɪŋ/ Finance (originally U.S.).
The lending of small amounts of money to the poor and others unable to provide traditional security, esp. as part of a social programme intended to stimulate an improvement in living standards and to provide capital for self-employment. See also microcredit n. at micro- comb. form 1b(b).
ΚΠ
1990 Time (Nexis) 5 Nov. 36 The program that helped Rickenbacker secure her loan is part of a worldwide effort to use ‘microlending’ to provide credit to people without collateral. Its roots lie not in a U.S. university, boardroom or foundation but thousands of miles away in, of all places, the villages of Bangladesh.
1993 U.S. News & World Rep. 25 Jan. 65/3 Taub argues that few participants in American microlending programs ultimately take loans and start businesses.
1997 Financial Post (Canada) 13 Feb. 22/1 Microlending is about providing small loans to poor people for self-employment projects—loans they wouldn't get from commercial banks because they lack collateral or business experience.
1999 N.Y. Times 3 Nov. a25/5 One thing we know is that one of the most effective tools for combating their poverty is micro-lending.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1990