Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Andhra Pradesh, India, are offering many of their estimated 6.7 million borrowers the option of restructuring their outstanding loans in an effort to defuse recent popular and political hostility towards microfinance in the area.
Search Results for: pradesh
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Consider Legal Action Against New Regulations in Andhra Pradesh
Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) are considering using legal action to attempt to block regulations of MFIs proposed by the government of Andhra Pradesh.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Andhra Pradesh Government Plans Legislation to Restrict Collection Practices of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) After Rise in Suicides Among Borrowers
A rise in suicides among microfinance clients in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has the local government considering legislation to restrict the loan collection practices of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the area.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, Two States in Southern India, Mandate Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) To Register Under Local Money Lending Laws; Mandate Challenged in Supreme Court
Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, two states in southern India, have mandated that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) register under local moneylending laws, but The Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC), an NFBC in India, has challenged this mandate in Supreme Court [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Andhra Pradesh Government to File Criminal Cases Against Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Using Coercion
The government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh recently announced it would file criminal cases against any microfinance institution (MFIs) found to have used coercion to recover loans.
WHO’S WHO IN MICROFINANCE: Andhra Pradesh Mahila Abhivruddhi Society (APMAS)
The Andhra Pradesh Mahila Abhivruddhi Society (APMAS) was founded by Mr. CS Reddy (p5) in 2001 to provide technical support and consultancy services to Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. APMAS uses its connections to large transnational organizations, banks, and government policy makers to link each SHG to a range of resources. By monitoring and molding the operations of SHGs, APMAS attempts to systematize SHGs so that larger organizations can follow professional protocols in working with these small groups.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Teams with ICICI Lombard General to Provide Health Insurance for Rural Poor in Indian States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa
Following an announcement earlier this month, SKS Microfinance (previously reported (1), (2), (3)), an Indian microlending organization, has worked with ICICI Lombard General, an Indian insurance company, to roll out a health care product for the rural poor in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa by March 8 of this year. This is a continuation of a pilot program introduced in Karnataka in February 2007. The problem of health insurance, while of growing concern in Western nations, is just another symptom of the severe poverty afflicting millions in developing nations. According to United Nations Development Programme, of the one billion people in India, 950 million — 95 percent — are living without health insurance.
Microfinance Institutions Reach Crucial Agreement with Government in Andhra Pradesh, India
In a broad reaching agreement, Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) operating in Andhra Pradesh, India have reached an agreement with the state government on MFI interest rates, product portfolio, inter-MFI competition, credit disbursement and loan recovery methodologies. An agreement pertaining to a smaller jurisdiction åö the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh was earlier reported on MicroCapital.
As per the terms of the agreement, MFIs have agreed to an interest rate ceiling of 15%. They have agreed to desist from providing multiple credit to an existing borrower and recover loans at a pace compatible with the borrower’s income level. MFIs are also to remain strictly within the micro-credit domain, avoiding micro-insurance products.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Light Microfinance, IppoPay Partner to Offer Digital Lending to MSMEs in Rural India
Two Indian firms, Light Microfinance and IppoPay, have announced they will work together to offer digital lending services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in “rural and semi-urban micro-markets” in four states:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IREDA Loans $4m to Husk Power Systems for 140 Solar Microgrids in Rural India
The India Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), a government entity, recently loaned INR 310 million (USD 4.2 million) to Husk Power Systems, an India-based supplier of small-scale electricity generation and distribution networks in rural India and Africa, to construct 140 solar microgrids in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. IREDA is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triple Jump via ASN Microkredietpool, NMI, Incofin Place $9.4m in Equity in Light Microfinance for Financial Inclusion of Women in Rural India
Light Microfinance, a non-banking finance institution in India, recently raised equity from three European organizations: USD 4 million from Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership active in Africa and Asia; USD 3 million from ASN Microkredietpool, a microfinance fund managed by Netherlands-based Triple Jump; and EUR 2 million (USD 2.4 million) from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CredAvenue Issues $45m Market-linked Debenture for Spandana Sphoorty to Boost Microfinance for Women in Rural India
CredAvenue, an India-based firm that connects lenders and borrowers, recently issued a market-linked debenture valued at INR 3.38 billion (USD 45 million) for Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited, a non-banking financial company (NBFC) providing microloans in India. The participating investors comprise
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation Investments Lends $12m to Berar Finance, SRFC, Sindhuja Microcredit of India
US-based Creation Investments Capital Management recently lent a total of USD 12 million to three non-bank financial institutions in India: Berar Finance, Shri Ram Finance Corporation (SRFC) and Sindhuja Microcredit. These investments are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Utkarsh Raises $32m in Equity from Aavishkaar, Growth Catalyst, Olympus, responsAbility, Triodos for Microfinance in India
Utkarsh Small Finance Bank (SFB) of India recently concluded a private placement of equity shares, raising INR 2.4 billion (USD 32 million) shortly after filing with local regulatory authorities for an upcoming IPO, through which it plans to raise an additional INR 7.5 billion (USD 100 million). The participants in the recent funding round were
SPECIAL REPORT: Lessons, Tools for the Pandemic from Prior Microfinance Crises
Deborah 
Drake of Accion’s CFI opened a European Microfinance Week session on crises in microfinance by noting that the effect of COVID-19 on the financial inclusion industry “is a different crisis because it is global.” In past crises, which were centered on a single economy, microfinance investors had sufficient capacity to inject into stronger institutions to help them survive. The global nature of the current downturn, however, may exceed the capacity of investors to sustain “worthy” financial services providers (FSPs) in certain markets. “There is inevitable
SPECIAL REPORT: Resilience Among Microfinance Institutions? “Region of Crisis” Relatively Stable; “Moratorium Veil” Yet to Lift
As part of the opening day of European Microfinance Week, Mohammed Khaled of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation stated that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the microfinance sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) so far have not been as bad as was feared earlier in 2020. Most of the large microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the region have maintained 30-day portfolio-at-risk (PAR) ratios below 4 percent. Mr Khaled said, “Among leading MFIs, PAR did not rise as high as expected. We thought [it might rise to] 10 percent to 20 percent, but many MFIs have kept things under control.” Part of the reason for this, he believes is that “this is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Haqdarshak Targets MSMEs, Employees with Fee-based Service for Potential Recipients of Government Services in India
Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions, a for-profit service that helps people in India access 254 government and private programs, recently expanded its focus on community organizations and larger businesses to include micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The firm works with these partner organizations to reach
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Suicides in Sri Lanka Blamed on Microfinance Loans, Regulation Criticized
At least 170 people in Sri Lanka reportedly took their own lives during 2018 after being unable to repay their microloan debt. Interest rates in the country have ranged up to