1. What is microfinance?

2. What is the difference between microfinance and microcredit?

3. Why the Microfinance Institution (MFI) become more popular?

4. What are the types of lending models that the MFI’s were following?

5. How do MFI Help the Poor?

6. How long has Grama Vidiyal been in operation?

7. What is the typical background of Grama Vidiyal’s members?

8. What type of products and services does Grama Vidiyal offer?

9. Is Grama Vidiyal a charitable or a for-profit organization?

10. What are the company’s goals for the future?

 

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1. What is microfinance?

Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed. The term also refers to the practice of sustainably delivering those services.

2. What is the difference between microfinance and microcredit?

Microcredit (or loans to poor microenterprises) should not be confused with microfinance, which addresses a full range of banking needs for poor people. Microcredit refers to very small loans for unsalaried borrowers with little or no collateral, provided by legally registered institutions

Microfinance typically refers to microcredit, savings, insurance, money transfers, and other financial products targeted at poor and low-income people.

3. Why the Microfinance Institution (MFI) become more popular?

India is the largest emerging market for microfinance, with 300 million poor households, of which only 15-20% have access to the formal financial sectorTraditional informal sources of finance such as moneylenders charge exorbitant rates of interest ranging from 70% to sometimes exceeding 1000% PA.Thus the creation of Microfinance Institutions (MFI) has played a significant role in bridging the gap between the formal financial institutions and the rural poor.

4. What are the types of lending models that the MFI’s were following?

1. Self Helping Groups
2. Grameen Model
3. Individual Lending

5. How do MFI Help the Poor?

People living in poverty need a diverse range of financial services to run their businesses, build assets, stabilize consumption, and shield themselves against poverty. Microfinance can help all these parameters which in turn lessen the poverty.

6. How long has Grama Vidiyal been in operation?

Grama Vidiyal’s earliest beginnings can be traced to 1993, when it served as the microcredit branch of the Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA) the parent organization. In April 1997, Grama Vidiyal officially came into existence when it registered as a separate public charitable trust distinct from ASA.

7. What is the typical background of Grama Vidiyal’s members?

Grama Vidiyal’s targets groups of rural women between the ages of 18 and 55 from the poorest of poor households. Particularly, Grama Vidiyal gives loans to those women who carry out an income generating activity and thereby benefit from the receipt of microcredit.

8. What type of products and services does Grama Vidiyal offer?

Grama Vidiyal provides three types of loans:
• General: Collateral free loans of small amounts to groups of women entrepreneurs. Loan size Rs. 5,000 – 15,000.
• Seasonal: Consumption loans offered to members in dire need of money at times of school admissions and festivals. Loan size Rs. 2,000.
• Business: Given to individuals who have demonstrated a regular and prompt repayment history over 2 years. Loan size Rs. 25,000 – 50,000.
Besides these products, Grama Vidiyal also offers risk mitigation products such as insurance.

9. Is Grama Vidiyal a charitable or a for-profit organization?

Grama Vidiyal’s track record of success has encouraged it to transform from a charitable trust to a regulated Non-Bank Financial Company (NBFC). Grama Vidiyal received an NBFC license from the Reserve Bank of India in February 2007. The new entity, Grama Vidiyal Microfinance Limited (GVMFL), has replaced Grama Vidiyal Trust in providing microfinance services.

Transformation to an NBFC brings GVMFL under the purview of government regulation and enables the new entity to attract larger amounts of equity capital. Equity capital has two benefits. First, it can be used as leverage to gain much larger amounts of on-lending debt. This translates into accelerated outreach and a higher outstanding loan portfolio. The other benefit is that mainstream equity investors interested in the microfinance sector bring valuable strategic expertise that can be invaluable during times of such rapid growth, as the organization moves into the mainstream financial sector.

10. What are the company’s goals for the future?

Grama Vidiyal hopes to reach over 1 million members in 2010. By that time, Grama Vidiyal plans to have expanded to more than 350 branch offices and to have Rs. 685 crores outstanding. This represents marked growth from the 154 branch offices and Rs. 203 crores in loans outstanding the firm currently has.

For further information

Microfinance gateway, Grameen bank, Sa-Dhan, CGAP