Adverse Incorporation and Microfinance among Cross-Border Traders in Senegal

SummaryThis paper highlights the relevance of adverse incorporation as a neglected theoretical approach to debates on microfinance through a case study of cross-border traders in Senegal. Although women’s organizations do not exclude even the poorest women, traders in remote areas were unable to access credit due to particularly harsh standards of joint liability and adverse relations with donors, lenders, and elite women. Meanwhile, the peer monitoring function of group microcredit schemes is challenged by the fact that traders are strikingly uncritical of defaulting borrowers. Findings highlight the detrimental consequences of donors’ misconceptions regarding women’s organizations and economic activities.