During the period 1980-1990, many rural microfinance institutions (MFIs) were created by international donors as experiments in new or alternative financing to combat financial exclusion. The development of these MFIs, as well as the extent of their contribution to other initiatives, has led to efforts to sustain their operations. In fact, rural MFIs have tackled the challenge of offering financial services to rural populations that up to now have been ignored by classical credit institutions. MFIs have facilitated rural households’ access to formal financing, introducing and offering customized loans that beneficiaries have come to depend on. Thus, access to proximate financial services (credit, savings, money transfers, insurance) has become an enduring need for rural populations, and any interruption in these services could have dire consequences for the beneficiaries. Thus, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is concerned about ensuring the institutional and financial viability of rural MFIs. The new regulations established for microfinance institutions in most of the African countries are what have driven the profound changes currently seen in the sector. After an initial experimental phase in which objectives were measured in terms of growth in the volume of loans and the number of disadvantaged populations reached, the priority has gradually shifted to the search for the financial and institutional sustainability of MFIs.