Dhaka, Aug. 16 -- Bangladesh's microfinance sector has seen a significant expansion over the past six years, with the microfinance institutions' (MFIs) total number of branches rising from 18,825 in fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 to 26,071 in FY 2023-24, showing a 38.5 per cent increase.

During the period, the number of microfinance borrowers grew from 25.76 million to 32.18 million, underscoring the sector's deepening role in serving the low-income and underserved communities, according to the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) data.

While the number of borrowers climbed steadily, loan disbursement patterns revealed sharp year-on-year fluctuations. Loan disbursement contracted by 3.16 per cent in FY 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but i...