Microfinance refers to the financial services provided to low-income individuals or groups who are typically excluded from traditional banking. Most microfinance institutions focus on offering credit in the form of small working capital loans, sometimes called microloans or microcredit.

Microfinance is an individual-focused, community-based approach to provide money and/or financial services to poor individuals or small businesses that lack access to mainstream or conventional resources. By contrast, macrofinance deals with an economy or an overall social structure.