What is the Solution Exchange for the Microfinance Community?
The Microfinance Community is working to provide solutions to the day-to-day challenges faced in providing financial services to the poor, thereby helping to attain the Government of India’s poverty reduction targets.
Solution Exchange connects the members of this Community and increases the effectiveness of their individual efforts, helping them share and apply each other’s knowledge and experience. Through Solution Exchange, colleagues can turn to their peers across India for solutions to the day-to-day challenges they face
What are some of the issues covered by this Community? - Strategies for building an inclusive and equitable financial sector
- Financial sustainability versus outreach- balancing commercial sustainability with availability of microfinance services to the poor
- Creating enabling environment for promoting an inclusive financial sector
- Delivery mechanisms- different approaches and models for delivery of financial services, and their advantages and limitations
- Product innovation and diversification of financial services
- Microfinance and sustainable livelihoods
- Microfinance and crisis management- to smooth out income fluctuations during crises
- Measuring impact- developing appropriate methodology and indicators
Who should become a member of the Microfinance Community? - Field workers from NGOs and intermediary organizations engaged with microfinance initiatives and poverty reduction programmes
- Microfinance regulatory institutions and government functionaries at all levels (village, block, district, state and centre)
- Microfinance institutions, non-banking financial companies, commercial banks, social venture capitalists, insurance service providers, regional rural banks, and primary agricultural credit cooperatives
- Representatives of donor agencies supporting microfinance programmes
- Academics interested in microfinance issues and training institutions for bankers
- Professionals and practitioners involved in the microfinance sector
Membership Profile
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| Since its start in October 2006, the Microfinance Community has grown to over 1,500 members, joining at an average of 16 persons a week. 14% of the members have posted one or more messages. Based on quarterly sample surveys of members, the benefits gained from membership averages out at 3.7 out of 5 "stars" |
| | | 41% of the members work in NGOs, 10% in Government agencies, and 13% in policy or research institutes or academia. 24% work in the private sector or are independent consultants. 12% work for UN or other donor agencies, programmes and projects, or professional associations. Regionally, membership balances out between 27% in the South and 12% in the East; 4% come from outside India.
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