In North Africa, microfinance enjoys one of the most favourable environments for growth, due to low market penetration rates combined with generally shallow government intervention6 . The region is mostly free of competition and high financing costs that bog down the industry in more mature mar- kets. Microfinance institutions face lower hurdles and can more easily attain profits, all while respond- ing to the needs of the lower segment of the microfinance market. However, the microfinance industry in North Africa is slowly starting to show signs of maturity. Access to concessional funds has so far enabled the sector to boost profits, but competition.
