Indian Microfinance
This is the first comprehensive account of various components of the Indian microfinance sector, the largest in the world. After reviewing the main challenges facing the sector, it analyses the progress of the two main delivery models, issues relating to the emerging microfinance services of micro-insurance and money transfers, ongoing efforts in training and capacity building, opportunities facing commercial financers such as bankers and social venture capitalists, the remaining need for development financing, and ongoing research in the sector. The main challenge facing the sector is identified as the need to enhance borrower, public and regulatory support and understanding, by increasing transparency in dealings with borrowers, and by 'educating' the public on why microfinance interest rates have to higher than bank lending rates if microfinance institutions are to recover costs and attain viability. Failures in both these areas led to a highly publicized attack in 2006 on the sector by the state government of Andhra Pradesh. While the sector weathered the storm, it needs to take serious note of the lessons, which are analysed in a separate chapter. The book will be of interest to various players in the sector including practitioners, bankers, insurance companies, venture capitalists, regulators, donors and academics. Given heightened interest in the sector with the Nobel prize awarded to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, it will be of even greater interest than before to the intelligent layman and the development community generally.
Sustainability of Indian Microfinance Institutions
Although 'doing good' is our innate nature, we often get lost in the complexities and view goodness as a distant dream. Making this dream of goodness a reality is often thwarted by thoughts surrounding sustainability. Thus, all good initiatives require a focus on sustainability and this has become one of greatest and most formidable challenges faced by any social enterprise. The book documents the understanding of the sustainability of one of the most celebrated forms of social enterprise of our times — Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) gained through a mixed-methods research investigation. It attempts to answer pertinent questions such as: What are the determinant and discriminating factors for the sustainability of MFIs in India? How are these factors being managed by the operationally efficient Indian MFIs that remained sustainable at reasonable interest rates before the onset of the crisis and ceilings imposition in Indian microfinance markets? What does the Indian microfinance crisis teach us about sustainability management and mismanagement? In a nutshell, the answers show that sustainability is a strategic issue that needs managerial attention and not a matter to be left to serendipity. At a time when the industry is recovering from the adverse effects of a crisis and when there are still contentions as to whether the rate fixed by the regulator is enough for the sustenance of the MFIs, the findings mentioned in the book revive the lost hope for the Indian microfinance industry. By deciphering the strategies used by efficient and sustainable MFIs and discussing the lessons that the crisis has imparted to the Indian microfinance markets, this book will enable Indian MFIs to march towards efficient and sustainable operations without losing focus on their clients.
Microfinance in India
Microfinance in India: A State of the Sector Report, 2007 is one in a series of annual reports on the microfinance sector in India. It is a comprehensive one-stop document that provides a holistic view of the sector, providing a detailed analysis of its status and future. It highlights recent developments under each of the two main models of microfinance in India -the SHG and MFI models. Most significantly, it engages with issues of topical interest such as the microfinance bill pending in parliament in a balanced and objective manner, and focuses on policy issues that need the attention of decision makers. The book carries a statistical appendix which provides essential data on the sector, and strengthens its utility as a reference document. It will be of interest to various players in the sector including practitioners, bankers, insurance companies, venture capitalists, regulators, donors and academics.
Microfinance India
Microfinance India is a part of a series of annual reports on the microfinance sector in India which seeks to document developments, clarify issues, publicize studies, stimulate research, identify policy choices, generate understanding and enhance support for the sector. It is a comprehensive one-stop document that provides the latest data and a holistic view of the sector, combines analysis and description and integrates a variety of topics previously treated separately. The book highlights recent developments in Self Help Groups (SHGs) and SHG Bank Linkage Programs (SBLPs), and focuses on microfinance with regard to the investment scenario in India. It also deals with the burgeoning field of urban microfinance, developments in micro-insurance, and the impact of new technologies on the microfinance sector. Additionally, it recognizes the high demands which the state makes on microfinance institutions and discusses the need and relevance of new policy regulations. Complementing these analyses, statistical annexes provide essential data on the sector, strengthening its utility as a reference document. It contains extensive original material, and yet draws widely on the findings of other recent studies and reports, thereby emerging as a complete, detailed analysis of the status and the future of the microfinance sector in India.
Microfinance in India
This volume presents a comprehensive analysis of microfinance initiatives in India. Through substantive field research and case studies ranging across the country, it examines Indian microfinance within its distinct socio-economic realities — the role of women, financial inclusion, rural entrepreneurship, and innovation — its interactions with multiple institutions, the challenges, as well as future directions.