Microcredit and microfinance are presented as multifaceted policy instruments positioned at the intersection of poverty alleviation, financial inclusion, and local economic development, with particular emphasis on their evolution from early informal lending practices to contemporary institutional models. The text situates poverty as a multidimensional socio-economic condition shaped by structural inequalities, globalization, labor market vulnerabilities, and shifting demographic patterns, and classifies its forms—absolute, relative, subjective, and human poverty—within international measurement frameworks. Against this conceptual background, microcredit emerges as a mechanism enabling low-income individuals, especially women, to overcome capital constraints through small, unsecured loans built on trust-based group lending structures. The work traces the historical trajectory of microfinance from the Grameen Bank experiment initiated by Muhammad Yunus in 1976 to its diffusion across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, highlighting program design principles such as sustainability, diversified financial services, risk control, institutional capacity, and transparent performance metrics. Country cases—including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Latin American economies, and sub-Saharan Africa—illustrate variations in operational models shaped by regulatory environments, market structures, and socio-cultural contexts. The analysis then turns to Turkey, outlining national poverty dynamics, structural and individual determinants of deprivation, and the emergence of domestic microcredit programs such as KEDV–MAYA, TGMP, Nahıl, and women’s cooperatives. These initiatives are examined in terms of target groups, loan types, repayment systems, and implementation challenges such as inadequate institutional infrastructure, high operational costs, and limitations in outreach. Overall, the book contributes to the literature by integrating global and national perspectives on microfinance, demonstrating how microcredit functions simultaneously as a financial tool, a social policy instrument, and a strategy for expanding women’s economic participation.