Amidst the global meltdown, microfinance sector remains unscathed

Microfinance India Summit, 2009

New Delhi, 20th October, 2009: ACCESS Development Services today announced the 6th Annual Microfinance India Summit to be held on October 26-28 at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi. The Summit is hailed as one of the most pre-eminent events of the Microfinance sector in India and attracts prominent names in the sector from India and across the world. Responding to the current debate on definitions of sustainability from a sectoral perspective, the Summit theme for 2009 is “Doing Good and Doing Well: The need for balance”. As the sector enters its third phase of evolution, it is perhaps the right time to examine the emerging tensions between social and financial capital, efficiency and empathy, soul and scale, sustainability and profits. Discussions during the first two days will be dedicated to the real beneficiaries of MFI efficiency, the issues on the need for client protection and the benchmarks for responsible lending, among others.

A session on Day 1 titled “Protecting our clients: Avoiding (and solving) Over-Indebtness” will explore the variety of factors that can push MFIs into over lending and lack of transparency. Panelists will also discuss practical ways to avoid lending clients more than they can afford to repay, cope with credit crises if they arise, and build long-term client protection into policy and practice. Closely connected with the theme of the Summit, the session titled “Responsible lending: Wake-up Call” will focus on various issues including the ethical standards that should govern the microfinance practitioners’ operations, the transparency in pricing and the relationships with the clients on the field.

Text Box: State of the Sector Report 2008-2009: Highlights § MFI’s have recorded an impressive increase of about 8.5 million clients during the year registering a growth of 60% over the previous year. § More than 50 percent of low income households are covered by one or the other form of microfinance § The total outstanding microfinance loans posted a growth rate of 30% over the last year’s level of Rs 229.54 billion. § The overall coverage of the sector as narrowly defined is estimated to have reached 76.6 million against 59 Million last year. As a part of the Microfinance India Summit, an important initiative is to annually bring out the “Microfinance in India - A State of the Sector Report”. The objective of this initiative is to support in-depth, well-researched, well-analyzed evidence on how the sector has grown and evolved, impacting lives of the poor. In the past couple of years, the State of the Sector Report has been considered one of the most useful reference documents for Microfinance in India both within and outside the country. While last year’s report flagged the high potential for growth and also the increased risk in the sector, this years’ report takes stocks of the uninterrupted growth rate of the sector despite such internal and external adversities.

Thought leaders from across the world would participate and share their views on 18 panels across two days. The summit is known for hosting prominent personalities in the sector as key speakers and attendees. The inaugural session will be addressed by Mr. Brij Mohan, Chairman, ACCESS Development Services. There will also be a special address by Mr Mark T Robinson, CEO, Citi South Asia, Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO, HSBC India. Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will deliver the key note address at the Inaugural Session.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Vipin Sharma, CEO, ACCESS Development Services said - “The inclusion of the poor in our financial mainstream is extremely important and we hope that this year’s theme would not only bring to light some of the issues faced by our clients and also the solutions that could impact their future The good news for the poor clients is that amidst a global financial meltdown, the microfinance sector in India has remained unscathed, posting an overall growth of 30% in portfolio and more than 20% in outreach.”

Mr. Alok Prasad, Country Director, Citi Microfinance, India, said “We are delighted to join hands with ACCESS in their sixth Annual Microfinance India Summit and reaffirm our commitment to a holistic sectoral agenda that goes beyond credit. It is now well established that the India growth story needs an inclusive financial ecosystem. By bringing the marginalized into the mainstream, microfinance has served this endeavor well. We are confident that the forthcoming Summit will further promote the healthy development of this vitally important industry."

"We welcome the Government of India's thrust on financial inclusion and the coming together of microfinance institutions, commercial and rural banks to reach the most marginalized. At the United Nations Development Programme, we reiterate our commitment to financial inclusion that stems from our work in the area of poverty reduction and hope the deliberations at this summit will pave the way for bringing poor women and men especially those belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe groups, small and marginal farmers, landless and migrants into the fold" said Ms. Prema Gera, Head, Poverty Unit, UNDP India.

In the past, the Summit themes have helped in focusing on core issues. Some of the themes of the past summits have been; “Inclusion, Innovation & Impact” (2005), “Urban Microfinance” (2006), “Formal Financial Institutions- The challenges of depth & breadth” (2007) and “The Poor First” (2008).

Source : Equity Bulls

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