Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Getting some facts straight in microfinance

The recent controversy surrounding the microfinance sector has entirely eclipsed the fact that it is the first effort in India to have delivered financial services to remote corners of the country in a self-sustaining manner.

Analysing the MFI cost structure

Having understood the deep transformative potential of access to finance and the barriers to accessing it, here’s a look at the fundamentals of the MFI cost structure in delivering finance.

Mills, Sugarcane and Credit

The Centre for Innovative Financial Design (CIFD) recently entered the survey stage of a research project concentrating on the welfare of India’s sugarcane farmers. 

Financial inclusion needs friendlier products

Third in the series of articles in The Hindu Business Line, Puneet Gupta and Jayshree Venkatesan of IFMR Mezzanine  Finance write about some of the barriers to accessing finance.

Financial services matrix

The best of intentions get thwarted ever so often, simply because the co-ordination and communication required are absent.

Why would an MFI need an Appreciative Inquiry process?

“In 5 years, our village would have metal roads, hospitals and old-age homes to take care of the poor, the poor women who work for others now would become employers, giving employment opportunities to many other under-privileged people.