This story originally appeared in our June 2nd, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

The Indian microfinance sector is making strides in recovering from the crisis last fall. What lessons can the global community learn from what happened in Andhra Pradesh?

Late last year, the Indian microfinance industry, which had seemed like an unstoppable juggernaut, came to a grinding halt after the state of Andhra Pradesh passed an ordinance to prevent coercive collective measures. As collections slumped, microfinance companies failed to settle their own borrowings, leading to a lending freeze from commercial banks.

The chain of events has now all but derailed microfinance in the country. After several years of growth, Sanjay Sinha, the Managing Director of Micro-Credit Ratings International Limited (M-CRIL), estimates that the industry has likely shrunk by 30% in the financial year ended March 2011.

In January 2011, the Malegam Committee, charged with investigation into the crisis, released its recommendations, and last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its guidelines—largely accepting those of the Malegam Committee but with some ease of operations for MFIs. » Continue reading “Learning from the Microfinance Fallout”

For several years, there has been more dialogue about using microfinance institution networks for water and sanitation loans. “WaterCredit,” as it is called, has been pioneered by Water.org (formerly Water Partners). On Friday, in Chennai, WaterCredit experts, users, and facilitators came together to discuss where the WaterCredit space stands, the progress made to date, and the scope for WaterCredit provision in the future.

The Need
There is no doubt about the need. Around the world, 900 million people lack access to clean water; 2.6 billion lack access to sanitation. In India, 130 million people are without clean water and 840 million people lack access to proper sanitation.  Of the total, 90% of the Watsan burden is borne by women. Not to mention, the poor pay an unbelievable 12 times what the rich pay for a single liter of water. Why? The poor often don’t see the benefits of infrastructure improvements, which is where most of the subsidies go.

Piloting the Concept
Several MFIs have been trying out a new product in the hopes of meeting their clients water and sanitation needs. BASIX entered into a partnership with Water Partners several years ago in an effort to gain insight into the technical and financial feasibility of microcredit products to » Continue reading “WaterCredit: Pilot Results Revealed”