Microcredit is a very small loan, given to someone a normal bank would usually refuse — often a person in a poorer country, with no house to put up and no long paper trail of money. The hope is that a little cash, enough for a sewing machine, a few animals, or goods for a stall, can start a tiny business, and that the person can pay the money back a bit at a time, with a little extra called interest. You will meet the word in news, charity work, and school talks about helping poor people, not when a friend lends you bus fare. It is fairly formal. Though actually, people stretch it: any small lending product may get the name, even when it is just a bank scheme with a low top amount, not careful village-style lending. A nearby, wider word is microfinance, which can also mean small savings and small insurance, not only the loan. And the story is not all sunny — some programmes have helped, and some have left people owing more than they can pay. It is a loan, not a gift.

小額信貸