Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Debt funding options for micro-banking service providers

In the wake of recent reports of dramatic decline in the availability of capital, microfinance service providers struggling to keep afloat, and the recent proposal by the finance minister to create a dedicated fund for providing equity to smaller MFIs

Access to Micro-Savings for Remote Rural India

Rural households need relatively large sums of money for life cycle needs (such as marriages, festivals and old age), emergencies (such as illness, the death of a bread-winner and floods) and investment opportunities (as much in assets and household goods, for example, as in investments in micro-businesses)i .

Managing risks in microfinance

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) essentially act as financial intermediaries, bridging the gap between mainstream financial institutions and low-income households for a specific type of credit need that is short-term and unsecured.