This paper summarizes some of the key aspects of Mathwood\'s current research into the impact of illiteracy on access to finance among 850 million rural people who earn less than $1 a day. It makes practical recommendations about how to expand access quickly and easily.

1. Microfinance and the Challenge of Socrates Web Version, June 2009

3. Members of a Santal (indigenous) ‘self-help group’ in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

7. Getting Community Finance Right

13. The media of communication used should match the culture of the institution. Oral media are normally only used at the retail interface.

16. Example: Mnemonics

19. Example: bridging towards numeracy through tallies and finger-counting

21. Research Enabling Financially Capable Villages