Microfinance is regarded as a lynchpin in private sector solutions to a host of complex social challenges, from child labor, education, and women's rights, through to sustainable local economic development. The principle of self-help through capital accumulation in the US inner city looks similar to that of a Peruvian slum, and as practice has grown, so has the research. Conversations and Empirical Evidence in Microfinance is a curated conversation from a comprehensive review of the published literature, and is supported by theory and evidence from a wide range of disciplines such as philosophy, finance, public policy, and entrepreneurship.