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Interview: India in Strong Position as the ‘Laboratory for Innovation’, Says Acumen’s Ajit Mahadevan
Ajit Mahadevan, Country Head, Acumen, tells Sarika Malhotra that the company's aim in investing patient capital is not to seek high returns, "but to jump-start the creation of enterprises that improve the ability of the poor to live with dignity. In the long-run we do aim to see a return of our capital". Acumen has been investing in India since 2001 and has backed 26 companies across portfolios, including low-cost maternity care, skills training and education, water filtration enterprises and more. In addition to providing patient capital to investee companies, it has also invested in human capital and a wide range of management support services to help the companies scale up.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Region
- South Asia
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Indian Payments Company Oxigen Eyeing Up to $200 Million Expansion Drive
Payment solutions provider Oxigen is on a major expansion drive that includes hiring about 1,500 people and ramping up its payment network across semi-urban and rural India. The firm is also eyeing a large share of the remittances market and prepares the ground for launching a payments bank.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Indian Microfinance Institutions Want RBI, Not Mudra Bank, as Regulator
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are worried about the government's decision to set up the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency, or Mudra Bank, to regulate them as there could be a conflict of interest. They want the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) to continue as their regulator.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance, regulations
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India’s SKS Microfinance: Back From the Brink
SKS Microfinance Ltd, one of the largest microfinance companies in India, was a model for many other firms in the sector. Established by financial services professionals, the company was once considered the answer to India’s financial exclusion problem. While SKS has been through its fair share of struggles in the last four years, things are starting to look better for India’s only listed microfinance company.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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This Poo Powder Aims to Help India’s Diarrhea Problem
An organic mixture made of coconut, rice and lemons is under development to help limit the spread of diseases associated with open defecation and diarrhea in a country where more than half of the 1.2 billion population relieve themselves outside.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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India’s Illicit Moneylenders Aren’t Going Away
Three bank branches stand across the street from Ajay Kumar Jaswal’s vegetable stand. But their loan officers shun his small business, forcing him to pay up to 20% quarterly interest to an illegal moneylender for the roughly $160 he needs as working capital.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Bangladesh Introduces Cash Incentive for Poor Pregnant Women and Children
Bangladesh has introduced cash incentives for poor pregnant women and under-5 children in some selected districts to lure them into facilities for health and growth check-ups.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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You Need a Banking Law to Create a Bank for the Poor
Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and a proponent of 'social business', a not-for-profit business model to combat unemployment and other social evils, does not mince his words when it comes to micro-credit for the poor. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is dismissive about some recent innovations in the microfinance sector and warns about the direction they are taking. He also believes that micro-credit should be kept outside political influence to run it as a sound financial institution. "The best scenario," he says, "is when a micro-credit bank is owned by the poor." Excerpts from an interview with Shamni Pande:
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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