In the last few years, considerable attention has been paid to microfinance as a relevant participant in the formal financial system, whose target audience is people who are otherwise at risk of financial exclusion. In parallel, sustainability and the promotion of Sustainable Development (SD) are imposed as the theoretical frame when facing any study. This, connected with cultural and organizational dimensions theories, are the analytical framework for the analysis of the relationship between the context of performance in which Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) operate and their activity in promoting sustainability. A holistic approach is necessary to make operational these concepts; for that reason, financial, environmental, social and governance dimensions (FESG), and the balance among them, have to be considered. The main objective of the paper is to explore to what extent MFIs are fostering SD, and how this promotion is performed by region. For the analysis, two different sources of information have been studied: sectoral academic literature that focuses on the different sustainability dimensions, and MIX Market sustainability data obtained from the MFIs. A keyword analysis of the selected papers has been executed to be conscious of the most investigated aspects by region; on the data provided by the institutions, a Kruskal-Wallis H test has been performed to learn what the main Sustainability Indicators (SIs) are that are reported affirmatively. To obtain comprehensive research, a comparative study of the results offers the convergences, divergences and gaps of information in each of the regions. The findings show significant differences depending on the region, and confirm that operationalization should be adjusted at the regional context of the MFIs. The paper, with the inherent limitations due to data quality, also offers recommendations for the better promotion of sustainability in each of the regions.

中文翻译：

---

各地区促进可持续发展的小额信贷机构

在过去几年中，作为正式金融体系的相关参与者，小额信贷受到了相当大的关注，其目标受众是那些有金融排斥风险的人。同时，在面对任何研究时，可持续性和促进可持续发展（SD）被强加为理论框架。这与文化和组织维度理论相联系，是分析小额信贷机构（MFI）运作的绩效背景与其促进可持续性的活动之间关系的分析框架。要使这些概念具有可操作性，就必须采用整体方法；因此，必须考虑财务、环境、社会和治理维度 (FESG) 以及它们之间的平衡。本文的主要目的是探讨小额信贷机构在多大程度上促进可持续发展，以及这种促进是如何按地区进行的。为了进行分析，我们研究了两种不同的信息来源：侧重于不同可持续性维度的部门学术文献，以及从 MFI 获得的 MIX 市场可持续性数据。对所选论文进行了关键词分析，以了解各地区研究最多的方面；根据机构提供的数据，我们进行了 Kruskal-Wallis H 检验，以了解肯定报告的主要可持续性指标 (SI) 是什么。为了获得全面的研究，对结果的比较研究提供了每个地区信息的趋同、分歧和差距。调查结果显示，不同地区存在显着差异，并确认应根据小额信贷机构的地区背景调整运营。由于数据质量存在固有局限性，该论文还为更好地促进每个地区的可持续性提供了建议。