Staff

Stuart Rutherford is an independent researcher, practitioner, teacher and consultant in financial services for the poor, especially in south and south-east Asia, Stuart Rutherford concentrates on imagining and field-testing innovative financial services schemes for the very poor. He also writes, teaches, and provides consultancy services to a wide range of clients.

As a practitioner he founded SafeSave, a microfinance institution (MFI) that pioneers ultra-flexible savings and loans services for the urban and rural poor in Bangladesh (safesave.org and ). He has been a Board Member of ASA, a large Bangladeshi MFI. See SafeSave and thepoorandtheirmoney.com

As a writer and researcher his best known book is The Poor and Their Money (OUP Delhi 2000 and Practical Action Publishing UK, 2009) which seeks to understand how poor people manage their money. The Poor and Their Moneywas described by CGAP as ‘one of the best things we’ve ever read on microfinance’. There are editions in French and Spanish. He has also written The Pledge: ASA, Peasant Politics and Microfinance in the Development of Bangladesh (OUP New York 2009), and is co-author of Portfolios of the Poor (Princeton May 2009). He has also contributed many articles to academic journals. As Honorary Fellow of the Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) at the University of Manchester, UK. with Dr David Hulme of BWPI co-directed a DFID-commissioned research project examining finance and poverty. Most recently (2002-2005) completed a review of the Grameen Bank for MicroSave (see www.microsave.org). Now working on a new book, The Portfolios of the Poor.

As a consultant: carried out field-work commissions, including research studies, product design, and programme evaluations, for many clients including World Bank, UNDP, DFID, ADB, EU, MicroSave and many NGOs including Oxfam, CARE, Save the Children, ASA, BRAC, BURO, Proshika, and ActionAid.