Inclusive Growth Conclave:
Rethinking Microfinance
January 29-30, 2009
Epicentre, Gurgaon
INDIA
Organised under ‘MySME News’ a project funded by European Commission’s ASIA INVEST II Implemented by
Summary of conference and the two-year project’s objectives
• Microfinance, originally developed as small loans for the poor, has expanded to an array of financial products such as savings, insurance, housing finance and remittance mechanisms in addition to credit. This phenomenon has also been called ‘financial inclusion’.
• If the poor are to step conclusively out of poverty they also need better livelihood opportunities, knowledge-based services and access to information. Microfinance combined with livelihood opportunities and access to information services could work better to combat poverty. This next step of adding livelihood development and ICT services to financial inclusion is here being called ‘inclusive growth’.
• Microfinance is reaching about 100 million, according to the Microcredit Summit’s stats, and reaching more people seems to be limited by several factors:
o ICT solutions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) concentrate mainly on the lending process, a small part of the services provided by MFIs
o Mobile phone banking solutions are not in place yet, resulting in little or no access to financial services for people in rural areas
• This two-year project in India and Nepal will develop tailored business news and information exchange services for the clients of microfinance i.e. the micro-entrepreneurs.
• The conference will also develop insights to understanding what other services and solutions could be conceived and business models developed to ensure that microfinance can achieve its intended impact i.e. the eradication of poverty.
Conference participants
• 29-30 Jan 2009: practitioners and policy makers from 10 countries in Asia (India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China) as well as representatives from international financial institutions. The event will gather over 150 practitioners, researchers, technical assistance providers, promoters and enthusiasts, academicians, media, technology service providers and students.
• The project implementers will also share the findings of a baseline study conducted by AC Neilsen, a reputed marketing intelligence service provider, on the information seeking patterns among microfinance clients in the Kolkata municipal area.
Just as many never dreamed that poor women in rural Bangladesh could become ‘Grameen Phone Women’ ten years ago, this conference dares to dream of a future for budding micro-entrepreneurs with access to information and other skills that help them develop new enterprises for livelihood and gain access to market information and business ideas.
Summary by Dr Phyllis SantaMaria of
Microfinance without Borders
25 January 2009
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No doubt, financial inclusion is the most promising tool for achieving MDGs..but the ground level research shows that generally the finances are not related with opportunities available in that region and the sustenance of business opportunities. as a research scholar, I have found that MFI's staff show apathy towards the poor people.
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