ACHIEVING FAMILY FARMERS' DEMANDS FOR MICROCREDIT THROUGH CREDIT UNIONS: A FRAMEWORK FOR DISCUSSION

Originality/value: In recent years, the microfinance community has witnessed unwanted consequences of microcredit misuse. We present an original approach about the way credit unions may achieve their target in a responsible way, offering appropriate products, services and training to the entire community involved.

Design/methodology/approach: Through secondary data and interviews with decision makers and credit union members, we studied the case of Cresol Baser, a large credit union in Brazil. We analyzed data based on inductive theorizing. First and second-order themes were identified, resulting in a procedural model, representing relationships between responsible microfinance factors.