Microfinance was designed as a development tool, but remains firmly anchored in the market economy. Its hybrid nature makes it unique among aid's instruments: microfinance benefits from subsidies, fiscal and regulatory support, while maintaining relative independence from governments and donors. To analyze its singular governance, we examine the interactions between its actors: both public and private as well commercial and non profit. This interplay is particularly oriented towards the definition of standards, codes, good practices, charters, labels, audit procedures, performance assessments, and other criteria aimed at regulating microfinance operations. Our purpose is to demonstrate that, beyond their technical specifications, norms that prescribe or evaluate MFIs' actions conceal different perceptions of what microfinance is, and what it should be. By studying the conventions used to supervise the financial, and subsequently, the social dimensions of this globalized field, this thesis deciphers the structures of authority that govern it.
