Mr Pal Vik

Salford Business School

Photo of Mr Pal Vik

Contact Details

Current positions

Research Fellow

Biography

I am a senior research fellow at Community Finance Solutions, a research unit focusing on financial inclusion and microfinance. Over the past 15 years, I have worked on over 40 externally funded projects on the nature of financial exclusion, the effectiveness of financial inclusion interventions, and the impact and sustainability of microfinance initiatives. I have written over a dozen academic papers, including conference papers and journal articles. I was awarded the 2017 Reg Mathews Memorial Prize for a paper on SROI and the European Microcredit Research Award in 2008 for a paper on the sustainability of the UK CDFI sector. I also host the "Innovation in Financial Inclusion" podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/1UzVrSIPRzChokvJbkk4N7).

Areas of Research

-Financial sustainability and social impact of microfinance
-Nature and determinants of financial exclusion
-Effectiveness and role of self-regulation and corporate codes
-Credit unions, especially financial resilience and role in promoting financial inclusion

Areas of Supervision

Financial inclusion/exclusion
Microfinance
Credit unions
Financial education
Financial capability
Corporate/ethical codes

Qualifications and Recognitions

Qualifications
  • PhD in sociology

    2009 - 2014
  • Local Economic Development

    2004 - 2005
  • Latin American Development Studies

    2000 - 2004