In October, Dvara Research conducted a workshop that aimed at engaging with practitioners to share findings from recent research efforts to answer the question of suitability in microcredit. The research undertaken by Dvara Research and published in a paper titled “When is Microcredit Unsuitable?” (Prathap and Khaitan, 2016) formed the foundation for this Workshop. The workshop was conducted with the intention of engaging Microfinance Institutions, namely NBFC-MFIs and NGO-MFIs, in a discussion regarding the issue of assessing suitability of microcredit to the end-borrower’s household.
The workshop helped to set up an active discussion between researchers and practitioners; the latter consisted of CEOs of MFIs who while keeping an eye on current operating realities, are keenly considering what the future might look like for their businesses. Applying the principles of human-centred design thinking, the participants explored important facets of the problem at hand, namely on why and how to assess suitability at a household level, followed by focussed discussions targeting solutions based on the specific issues that surfaced and the existing approaches to suitability and affordability assessments for microcredit.
The proceedings document hopes to serve as an account of the discussions and brainstorming sessions that allowed practitioners, regulators, and researchers to come together and work towards a better assessment of debt affordability for a household. We hope to take these insights into the technical session that we are hosting at the Inclusive Finance Summit on December 12th.
Click here to download the proceeds.
