What can we learn from failures in microfinance? Successful microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been widely studied to understand the reasons that drove them into the market and to extract good practices that are useful for the rest of the industry. However, the institutions that could be considered failed experiences have received very little attention. Alex Silva, a microfinance pioneer, outlines the results of a recent study on failed microfinance institutions. He outlines six major reasons for the downfall of MFIs.