Microfinance, also referred to as micro-credit, is a category of financial service that aims at providing the low-income earners and small businesses with financial services that they would have otherwise not had access to. It involves financial assistance in relatively lower amounts (of monetary value). It provides safe access to credit in accordance with ethical lending practices.

Microeconomics, on the other hand, looks at consumer behavior and the theory of the firm. It examines how individual households spend their budgets, the utility that a consumer derives from a good or service, how much to save and consume, whether a firm will increase/decrease production among other things.