SIDBI launches India Microfinance Platform with World Bank Support

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) recently announced the launch of its website for Microfinance in India.

On the occasion of launch, Sushil Muhnot, Chairman and Managing Director, SIDBI said that Microfinance has emerged as a growing industry to provide poor people with access to quality financial services. SIDBI has actively played its role in lending, creation of innovative products and policy advocacy in the microfinance sector for over a decade. He said the institution will continue its focus on spreading microfinance in underserved areas, especially states in the North-Eastern Region. The Government of India has also recently allocated an additional fund of Rs 200 crore towards providing equity and quasi equity support to smaller MFIs pursuant to the budget announcement.Ms. Bertine Kamphuis, Private Sector Development Specialist, World Bank stated that creation of MIX India platform is one of the initiatives undertaken by SIDBI as part of the responsible financing agenda supported by World Bank and aims at scaling up access to sustainable micro finance services. Further, the website would help in establishing greater transparency in the microfinance sector.

The website contains various financial and operational information of Indian MFIs and is developed by MIX, a leading source of data on the financial, operational and social performance of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) globally. The website is aimed to provide annual financial and operational performance data of the Indian MFIs, market growth and portfolio quality data on a quarterly basis and social performance indicators, wherever applicable.