ADB seeks to strengthen microfinance industry in India to achieve a sustainable growth that must also cater the concerns on over indebtedness and consumer protection and the client financial education. This mission aligns with India’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy and the priority sector guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Under the project technical assistance was provided to the selected MFIs on three components. The first component emphasize on building the capacity of the 5 selected MFIs in the area of Governance, Risk Management, Business Planning and Operation. The second component emphasize on creating awareness of 10 selected MFIs on consumer protection principles and practices and introduce the consumer protection principles and procedures in their strategy and operation system. The third component call attention to impart the financial education to at least 50,000 clients of the MFIs on various financial management modules.
The GoB (Government of Bihar) has been implementing the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP) through JEEViKA, which is a World Bank supported poverty alleviation program since 2007. JEEViKA has initiated DFS (Digital Financial Services) during 2016 with an aim to improve the quality of last mile banking services and cashless transactions through strengthened bank’s BC agent network and other alternate channels like mobile banking. The objective of the project was “the Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and their members promoted by JEEViKA access variety of financial products and services at their door steps at reasonable cost in a competitive environment by using digital technology and emergence of IT enabled solutions for the financial sectors”. The project envisages development of DFS strategy & implementation road map for the JEEViKA, provide support in implementation of the strategy by designing the required operational systems and processes, develop DFS and DFL training manuals, conduct training to master trainers, documentation of best practices and case studies and support around 10 CLFs (Cluster Level Federations) to become Corporate BC of Banks or BCA of Corporate BC.
World Bank Group (“WBG”) in association with CRIF High Mark Credit Information Services Private Limited have jointly undertook a project to deepen the coverage of Self Help Group (SHG) member level data and enable banks to use this data in credit appraisals through credit inquiries. Technical support was provided to NJGB (Narmada Jhabua Gramin Bank) that includes support to bank staff in collecting the member level data in the CBS as per the CIC reporting requirements, Operational Manual for opening/handling of SHG Accounts by Branch Staff, Guidelines for Comprehensive Capture of SHG Member Data in CBS, Training Manual to train SHPI staff and SHG Key office bearers on Credit Bureau Reporting and Training Manual for bank staff on integrating revised guidelines and processes on CIC Reporting for SHG Members and conducting ToTs for Bank Managers on CIC Reporting for SHG Members . As of March 2018, NJGB uploaded 702 SHG Members data from 207 SHGs in the CRIF High Mark portal that were generated from the bank’s CBS. NJGB could generate Credit Inquiry Reports (CIR) of SHG Members which signifies the successful implementation of the project.
The overall goal of gender mainstreaming project in microfinance is to ensure a more inclusive and gender sensitive microfinance operations. Under this assignment a toolkit on Gender mainstreaming was developed in consultation with financial institutions and how to continue working with this tool kit in future. A Gender action Plan was prepared for individual MFI’s/SHPIs to institutionalize/mainstream, facilitated MFI’s/SHPIs to implement action plan including capacity building of staff. Designed a monitoring tool to track and report back on progress. Disseminated lessons learnt and good practice through National workshop and webinar.
The credit reporting infrastructure in India steadily improving with entry of multiple credit information companies (CIC) but the absence of credit history of Self-Help Group (SHG) borrowers is a key gap in the existing credit reporting infrastructure. Given the sectoral momentum on improving credit bureau reporting of SHG data. IFC proposes to customize and adapt the existing MFI credit bureau awareness modules developed by IFC to suit the context of SHG members. The project involved working within the overall design of the existing modules, while bringing in new messages and story line that addresses credit bureau data reporting challenges among SHGs and also aids in promoting CB awareness among SHG borrowers.
Field visits and surveillance of Microfinance operations in select hot spots areaswas conducted in Aurangabad and Jalgaon districts of the Maharashtra state. Survey design involving both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in the study. The study assessed the impact of microfinance on clients especially in some hot spots which have a high concentration of MFIs with possible instances of over indebtedness/multiple lending; effect/influence of recent demonetization on over-indebtedness and multiple lending; review of different MFI current practices in implementing their policies on the ground, in line with the Code of Conduct and RBI regulations.
Microenterprisesplayacrucialroleinproviding large employment opportunities in India however many studies on Microenterprises in India show that majority of the microenterpreneurs have inadequate access to credit for microenterprise and persistently depend upon informalsourcesofcredit whatever access thereis. A study was undertaken in four different regions of the country in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha. The study provides an assessment of the various credit sources for microenterprises and micro entrepreneurs in India including alternate channels of credit and understands the difficulty in accessing the credit from different sources.The study recommended policy interventions suitable to address the difficulties faced by micro entrepreneurs in accessing credit from their choice of preference and to address the persistence of overall inadequacy of credit.
Bhutan Development Bank (BDB) functions as a domestic development bank in Bhutan. Under the project, technical assistance is provided to BDB to establish a comprehensive Risk Management System for bank. The activities were divided into 3 phases. Diagnostic phase, where country specific review, organizational review and branch review were conducted. Country specific review covered status of banking sector in Bhutan, rules and regulations governing banking sector in Bhutan, regulations of central bank of Bhutan that are applicable to BDB, industry norms followed by the fellow banks and risk capital or capital base of banks. Organizational review included practices and governance practices, reporting and monitoring systems, operating model, products and services, existing risk management practices and review of departmental practices. The branch review covered functioning of branches and operation and practices at field. The second phase, development phase covered designing of risk management framework and risk assessment tools, techniques, methodologies and measurement. In the third phase the team was trained on Risk Assessment Tools, Techniques, Methodologies and Reporting system.
Bhutan Development Finance Corporation Limited (BDFCL) is a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) as well as a specialized Bank. Under the project technical assistance was provided to BDFCL towards increasing access to savings & credit services in rural areas by BDFCL directly; developing linkages between financial and non-financial services; promoting strategic partnership among BDFCL and NGOs to promote community based organizations and facilitate access to financial and non-financial services by the rural households and facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations in Bhutan, so as to develop a strategy and action plan on microfinance that could be adopted by BDFCL as well as policymakers of the country.
In this assignment of Financial Education Programme within the curriculum was developed for students at the Kamaliki Technical and Vocational Training and Educational Centre. The objective was to enhance skill sets on Financial Education through an embedded approach. The course curriculum was designed for 32 hours for teachers and students. The curriculum has seven modules - Financial Planning, Cash Flow and Budgeting, Savings, Debt Management, Banking, Risk Management and Insurance, and Investment. The modules were designed using adult learning methodologies and real-life cases adapted to Papua New Guinea culture. Towards the end of the course at Kamaliki, the students will enhance their knowledge and skills around money and its management, resulting in behaviour change. Monitoring and evaluation tools are also built within the curriculum to measure the impact of the learning among students.
Bhamashah Financial and Women Empowerment Scheme (BFWES), Rajasthan envisioned the creation of a state-wide technologically advanced electronic infrastructure backbone for providing banking services, government services and non-financial services to rural families, especially poor and disadvantaged, at their door-steps, using biometrically secured multiple benefit smart cards, also reforming governance and delivery systems in the process.13,000 personnel were trained and deployed over a period of 10 days for the task. 14,275 camps were organized at the village level to identify and inform beneficiaries, exclusively women and assisted them in filling up the bank account opening form. During this 10- day-period, 4.2 Mn women were enrolled with the Punjab National Bank through the use of biometric device enabled technology.
Technical assistance services were provided to two partner financial institutions viz. Meghalaya Rural Bank (MRB) and Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd (MCAB) to develop customized financial products, training and assessing the viability of delivery channels for future roll-outs: Training module on product design methodologies and design and pilot risk management training modules were developed.
Under the project,an assessment study was conducted regarding the design and delivery of Financial Literacy among poor across 7 UN Focus States (Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Orissa). The survey results presented an insight into the understanding among the poor about various components of financial literacy. The study also provided an overview of available Financial Literacy packages, highlighted the best practices in the delivery of Financial Literacy tools and packages and delineate the relationship between Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion.
The objective of the program was to design an Agriculture Finance Capacity Building Project for Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd. The study was undertaken to assess the market potential for various agriculture finance products across major agriculture value chains in Nepal and institutional capacity of NUBL to handle such agriculture finance products, in terms of both the business plan achievements as well as the risk management mechanisms.
The objective of the project is to provide consulting services to develop appropriate agriculture based financial products/services with an appropriate business model, the development of an effective risk management system to support agriculture finance products and providing guidance for the newly established agriculture finance unit of the Nirdhan Utthan Bank Limited.
The objective of the assignment was to strengthen human resource function in Fusion Microfinance. Consultancy services were provided to (i) strengthen human resource management (HRM) and (ii) strengthen client training capacity
The objective of the project is to address demand-side gaps through development and implementation of pilot financial awareness and education interventions to strengthen the financial capability of people in Meghalaya.The target audiences were mainly from the nine missions and associated value chains identified in the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Promotion Program (IBDLP) viz. Aquaculture, Apiculture, Sericulture, Horticulture, Forestry and Plantation crops, Livestock, Tourism, Water and Renewable Energy. Within the sectors and value chain, the target audiences comprised of young adults, working population between the ages of 18 to 45 years, out-of-school students and young graduates just entering the workforce, entrepreneurs and micro entrepreneurs in selected districts of three tribes (Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia). A financial capability intervention was developed and implemented.
The objective of the project was to development of financial service training module and conducting training for the financial service team.
Following steps were followed for project implementation:
This study focused on the status of financial inclusion, with specific reference to micro-saving services of the ultra- poor households in select locations of Bihar. Through qualitative and quantitative assessment of the scenario of the financial services such as savings, credit, micro-insurance and remittance services for ultra-poor households, an assessment was done for the demand and supply of financial services. The study also included an assessment for a deeper understanding of households’ savings and credit patterns and behavior from point of view of livelihood strategy.
The project focused on a review of the existing documents and literature on various aspects of the financial sector for Fiji as well as for the Pacific region. The country profile of Fiji was reviewed to understand the socio-economic conditions and uniqueness of Fiji islands. Documents related to financial sector assessment, financial sector policy review, micro-finance sector assessment, private sector development and other related documents were studied to gain an understanding of the current status of the financial sector in Fiji and Pacific Islands. A Report highlighting the current scenario of the MF sector, constraints and opportunities, roles of various stakeholders such as Reserve Bank of Fiji and Pacific Financial Inclusion Project was presented.
Under this project Institutional Development Services were provided to 12 NGO and Community Based Microfinance Institutions in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand. ID Services provided included exposure visits, training, and design workshop. Assessment of existing operational processes and HR systems was conducted. Installation of IT system and recommendations for organisational structure & Business Planning were provided. Trainingwas provided to the board of directors on Leadership, Financial Literacy, Review, and Monitoring, Processes of Annual General Body Meeting, Risk Mitigation System, Livelihood Intervention Programs