A Little Breath of Fresh Air Teases the Microfinance Buy Side

Accion and Unitus, two US non-profit microfinance "networks" announced a partnership to work together in India. While good to see even a hint of industry consolidation on the non-profit "buy" or "supply" side of microfinance, it would be great to see actual mergers and acquisitions in these networks. "Networks" are loosely defined as rich country non-profits that support microfinance institution (MFI) partners or members transnationally. Almost all the 14 major network players have small budgets, as is typical of the non-profit sector. In fact, approximately 99% of all registered US non-profits have budgets less than $100 million and about 98% have budgets less than $10 million. This absence of large-scale solutions to social problems shames all of us in the face of global poverty.

1) ACCION Press Release: “Microfinance Leaders ACCION and Unitus Establish Strategic Alliance for India.”
2) MicroCapital Blog: “Microfinance Networks (transnational second-tier): Defined and Listed.”
3) “Registered Non-Profit Organizations by Level of Total Income.”

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