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6 Questions for SKS

The Indian microfinance institution, SKS, became the second pure MFI globally to go public by listing its shares on the stock market. SKS is one of the largest microfinance institutions in the world with almost 6 million clients, mostly poor women living in rural areas.

Enabling International Remittance Services in Georgia

International remittances play an important role in the lives of people across the world, but in Georgia they are of major economic importance, accounting for 9% of the country’s GDP.

What Does Microborrower Behavior Tell Us About Impact?

Given how much we still don’t know about what kind of impact all this investment is producing, further research makes pretty good sense.

What Should We Look for with the SKS IPO?

The most important and contentious issues about the IPO will take more time for us all to weigh carefully. It will be particularly important to see how the proceeds of several Mutual Benefit Trusts are used given the philanthropic purpose for which these MBTs were first created.

Haiti’s Graduation Pilot Final Evaluation,Promising Results

At the pilot stage, the program has demonstrated significant positive impact upon the lives of its members with 97% per cent of the 150 women that participated “graduating” out of the program.

The Other Side of the Interest Rate Argument

High interest rates is not a universal problem. In fact, China is facing the opposite issue: interest rates charged by MFIs are too low.

Trickle Up: What’s Up Six Months after Graduation?

The Trickle Up Graduation Pilot in West Bengal is one of the most advanced sites in the CGAP-Ford Foundation Graduation Program—a global effort to understand how safety nets, livelihoods and microfinance can be sequenced to create pathways out of extreme poverty.

Perplexed about Overindebtedness, Part 2

“Indebtedness” refers to loan obligations—that’s easy enough. And the “over” part means too much. But too much from whose perspective?

Perplexed about Over-Indebtedness – Part 1

The core practical question is, “how can we figure out whether there is serious over-indebtedness in a given microfinance market?”

How to Tell Good MFIs from Bad MFIs

Most of us working in microfinance want microloan clients to be paying interest rates that are as low as possible. While we have the same vision, there is disagreement about how to determine whether an interest rate is an appropriate one.

Does Microcredit Really Help the Poor? Take II

When people think about “getting out of poverty,” they are usually thinking in terms of income and/or consumption.

The Perils of Uncontrolled Growth

The causes of the delinquency crisis are well known and can be summarized in two words: unsustainable growth.

Does Microcredit Really Help Poor People?

Since microcredit first came to public attention in the 1980′s, the usual story line has been that it funds creation and expansion of microenterprises, producing additional income that lifts the borrowers’ households out of poverty. But is it true?

Is 95% a Good Collection Rate?

For most MFIs a collection rate of 95% would be unsustainable: at that level, delinquency will have already spun of control and the institution won’t be around much longer unless drastic action is taken to improve collection quickly.

Why M-PESA Should Offer Savings Accounts

The fact that M-PESA is being used for savings illustrates the latent demand for appropriate savings products in Kenya.

Multiple Borrowing or Multiple Lending and Debt Fatigue

The common thread across locations in which repayment problems have been experienced is that customers are showing signs of fatigue arising from debt.

All about Where the Curves Meet

The basic challenge in both micro and SME finance is that it costs more in absolute terms to lend a given amount in a number of small loans rather than one big loan, especially when it comes to those household and enterprise loans where approval decisions can’t be based on automatic scoring.

Are Microcredit Interest Rates Excessive?

High microfinance interest rates is a hotly debated topic in a lot of places. Obviously, the answer for a given MFI depends on its particular circumstances.