Consultive Group to Assist the Poorest was founded in 1995 as a microfinance tool geared towards helping poor people. CGAP works with microfinance institutions, donors, and the microfinance industry by "providing technical assistance and strategic advice, by developing and disseminating technical guides and services, by delivering training, and by performing field research on innovations." Showcased on the site is the Microfinance Gateway. A joint project of Eldis and the CGAP, the Gateway is a full-text library of over 2,000 microfinance documents. The library is browseable by key topic, each of which offers articles as well as discussion groups and forums. The library's collection is also searchable by key topic, author/organization, country, and region. The Industry Services section of the Gateway contains a helpful collection of resources including conferences, links, employment, online forums and newsletters, and bulletin boards. In addition to the library, the CGAP Website hosts several publications, including the Focus Notes series, offering short four-page synopses of issues in microfinance, as well as collections of working and occasional papers, and a collection of technical guides which serve as manuals "tailored to address gaps in microfinance technical knowledge."
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