Recent reporting about the activities of for-profit microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, specifically in the state of Andhra Pradesh, has raised important questions about whether microfinance is delivering on its promise to empower poor people. We take the concerns raised extremely seriously and are following developments on a day-to-day basis through our India-based team.
Though Grameen Foundation is not currently working with any of the MFIs that have been caught up in the allegations in Andhra Pradesh (our efforts in India are currently focused on the least-served states, in the north and east of the country), we have worked with and observed the Indian microfinance sector for more than a decade. We have seen its many challenges, as well as the hard work of MFIs and others to improve accountability and service to borrowers. Grameen Foundation strongly believes that MFIs must measure their social performance as rigorously as they measure financial performance – in other words, they must demonstrate that they are reaching the poor and poorest, and that these borrowers are moving out of poverty over time. Read more
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