Recent Blogs
Blog
Technology Challenges Accompany Voluntary Savings
Our discussions on branchless banking on this blog do not often touch on the role of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The main actors in this space seem to be mobile network operators, commercial banks, larger microfinance banks and technology companies. We have done a bit of thinking on microfinance and mobile banking, notably in this Focus Note and at this Virtual Conference.Blog
Faster Horses or Better Insights?
Customers often can’t or won’t tell you what they want, so you must work to dig down to what they really need. Valuable services not only meet a deeply-felt need, they tackle a poorly met need.Blog
MFIs Should Do Responsible Finance
Responsible finance is not just the responsibility of the MFIs. Other stakeholders have a role to play. These stakeholders should exhibit the same virtues that they demand of MFIs.Blog
Waiting in Line…Where’s My Agent? Headlines and Highlights
I’m blogging from Dakar, Senegal where I had a stark reminder of why innovation in financial services is so necessary.Blog
Innovation in Branchless Banking at the Bangladesh Post Office
On a recent visit to Bangladesh Sarah Rotman and I met with Post Office Director General, Mobasherur Rahman, at his office in the middle of busy downtown Dhaka to hear about his foray into the world of branchless banking.Blog
India Microfinance Bill Offers a Mixed Bag to Investors
The change in the thinking of the government in terms of introducing the comprehensive microfinance bill to replace the old one and emphasizing the supremacy of the regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is a consequence of the events in Andhra Pradesh where the State Government has introduced a State level Act to regulate MFIs.Blog
So Where Are We in the Link Between G2P and Financial Services?
The link to financial inclusion is one that can often get forgotten in the quest for payment efficiency.Blog
India’s Microfinance Bill Answers Most Questions
The bill is an important first step; several more steps in translating the bill to action are required before we reach a stage that restores the vitality of the sector.Blog
India Microfinance Bill – The Good and The Bad
India’s microfinance bill is a very positive development for the microfinance sector because it brings the sector into the ambit of organized financial services.Blog
Centre for Women Co-operative Development, Pakistan
Innovation at CWCD has led to a complete organizational transformation, where CWCD has let go of its conventional microfinance programs and dedicated itself completely towards Islamic Microfinance.Blog
Regulation at Last for Indian MFIs
The proposed guidelines introduce customer protection within regulatory framework of credit-only institutions for the first time.Blog
Can Data and Transparency Strengthen Microfinance?
We have come to expect that consistent, reliable data strengthens microfinance performance and policy dialog.Blog
Some Insights into Over-indebtedness in India
Microfinance Institutions in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere in India are keen to avoid over-indebtedness or place clients in distress.Blog
Learning from the Indian Microfinance Crisis
As the Indian microfinance sector responds to the Andhra Pradesh crisis, an opportunity has been created in India, as well as in the global sector, to reevaluate their “people practices” and make them a core part of a system that has provided a safety net for millions.Blog
SKS IPO Success and Excess
By market standards, the SKS IPO is a great success. Institutional investors have over-subscribed their allocations by 13 times, and the company’s valuation of USD 1.5 billion came in at the top end of the offer band price.Blog
What Should We Look for with the SKS IPO?
The most important and contentious issues about the IPO will take more time for us all to weigh carefully. It will be particularly important to see how the proceeds of several Mutual Benefit Trusts are used given the philanthropic purpose for which these MBTs were first created.Blog
Multiple Borrowing or Multiple Lending and Debt Fatigue
The common thread across locations in which repayment problems have been experienced is that customers are showing signs of fatigue arising from debt.Blog