Balancing Paradoxical Missions: How Does Microfinance Rebuild a Sustainable Path in Poverty Alleviation?

As an effective means in fighting poverty, microfinance experienced an unprecedented growth in many emerging economies followed by stagnation and deep crisis, due to an inherent paradox in the fundamental missions of microfinance industry: serving the poor and making profits to maintain institutional sustainability. This article explored sustainable mechanisms in balancing the paradoxical missions of microfinance institutions in the post-crisis era through an in-depth case study on RSL, a microfinance institution in China. The managerial principles and framework of RSL revealed in this article could guide indigenous microfinance companies to deal with the paradoxical nature of their missions and build a sustainable path in poverty alleviation.