Understanding Microfinance

1 Microfinance: What is it?

1.1 History of Microfinance in India

1.2 Microfinance Defined

1.3 Microfinance Products

1.4 Microfinance Services

1.5 Microfinance and Rural Financial Services

1.6 Agricultural Microfinance

2 Supply, Intermediation and Regulations of Microfinance

2.1 Supply of Microfinance

2.2 Intermediation

2.3 Microfinance Distribution Models

2.4 Regulations and Supervision

3 Microfinance Credit Lending Models

3.1 Credit Lending Models

3.2 Differences Between SHG and JLG Model

3.3 Indian SHG: Problems and Issues

3.4 SHG-Bank Linkages Programmes in India

3.5 Transaction Cost and Time for Lending SHGs by the Lending Institution/Bank

3.6 Transaction Cost and Time for Borrowing the Loan by Borrower/SHG

3.7 SHG Clusters and Federations





4 Risks in Microfinance Institutions

4.1 Types of Risks in Microfinance

4.2 Risks in Agricultural Microfinance and Feasibility Tests for Agricultural Credits

4.3 Strategies for Risk Minimization


5 Social Rating, Credit Rating and Impact Assessment in Microfinance

5.1 Social Rating

5.2 Measuring Social Performance

5.3 Social Rating Components

5.4 Social Rating of MFIs by M-CRIL

5.5 Credit Rating Models in MFIs

5.6 Component of Analyzing Indian Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

5.7 Impact Assessment of Microfinance

5.8 Approaches of Impact Assessment

5.9 Method of Impact Assessment

6 Marketing in Microfinance Institutions

6.1 Background and Definitions

6.2 Market Research in Microfinance

6.3 Marketing Environment for Microfinance

6.4 Market Segmentation in Microfinance

6.5 Competition in MFIs

6.6 Growth Strategies for MFIs in Microfinance Sector

6.7 Customer Retention in Microfinance

6.8 Outreach of Microfinance

6.9 Rural MFIs Enter into Urban Markets and Vice Versa

6.10 Product Development in MFI

6.11 Recent Strategies of MFIs in Increasing Outreach, Market Share and Customer Retention


7 Microfinance and Disaster

7.1 Background

7.2 Pre-disaster Activities of MFIs for Clients

7.3 During Disaster and Post-disasters Activities of MFIs for Clients

7.4 Schedule Commercial Banks and Disasters


8 Microfinance and Development

8.1 Microfinance and Women Empowerment

8.2 Microfinance and Health

8.3 Microfinance, Microentrepreneurship and Business Development

8.4 Microfinance and Education

8.5 Microfinance and Networking and Linkage Building


Case Studies on Self Help Groups

Case 1: Linkage Building: A Case of Kalajhini Mahila Self-Help Group

Case 2: Entrepreneurship of Purana Sahi Mahila Self-Help Group

Case 3: Development of SHGs in Tribal Districts of Orissa

Case 4: Capacity Building through Linkage Development: A Case of Maa Duarasuni SHG

Case 5: Enterprising Mixed Self-Help Group: A Case of Adam Changa Self-Help Group

Case 6: Self-Help Group Leads to Generation of Income and Livelihood Portfolios: A Case of Patherkata Village Committee

Case 7: Institutionalization by a SHG through Networking

Case 8: Jay Hanuman Krushak Kalyan Sangh

Bibliography

Further Reading

List of Tables

List of Figures

List of Boxes

Index