1. Small loans and financial services provided to low-income individuals or small businesses that lack access to traditional banking.
Usage: Usually used in plural or as a mass noun; Common in development economics and international finance

1. To provide microfinances or small loans to individuals or businesses.
Usage: Third-person singular present tense of 'microfinance'

Examples

• The nonprofit organization microfinances small entrepreneurs in rural villages.
• Microfinances have helped thousands of women start their own businesses in developing countries.
• Banks increasingly microfinances startups that traditional lenders consider too risky.
• Access to microfinances can lift families out of poverty.
• The program microfinances farmers with loans under $500.
• Microfinances offer an alternative to predatory lending practices.
• She received microfinances to open her tailoring shop.