Fusion Microfinance introduced the innovative ‘Water on Wheels’ project in ten villages of Rajasthan and benefiting 100 women in Rajasthan.
Punjab
Satin Creditcare organised Financial Literacy workshops in Moga and Barnala districts of Punjab in October 2020. LDMs, Bank managers, a reputed surgeon and Asha workers were invited as chief guests.
Maharastra
Centrum Microcredit: providing 1700 families across Mumbai and Greater Mumbai, 31.82 tonnes of food grains & other essentials since April 2020.
Odisha
Adhikar Microfinance, in association with Water.Org, has taken up Water and Sanitation development work in Koraput and Malkangiri Districts in Odisha.
MFIN Membership is open to all RBI regulated NBFC-MFIs.
The application for becoming a Member of MFIN goes through a defined procedure including submission of requisite documents, on-site due diligence and the Board review.
The Fees and Procedure are detailed below:
Application Fee: One-time Application Fee of INR 1,000
Initial Membership Fee: One-time Fee of INR 1,00,000
Annual Subscription Fee: Payable upon approval of Membership, as follows:
An amount equivalent to 0.0275% of Total Gross Loan Portfolio (including managed portfolio), after adjusting for loan portfolios that are 180 days overdue on prorated basis.
Subject to a cap of INR 65,00,000 and a floor of INR 1,50,000.
*Note: Calculation of fee for new Members will be on a prorate basis for the quarter in which they have joined and the remaining quarters of the financial year. Annual Subscription Fee will be charged from all members, each year, as decided by the Board from time to time and ratified by the General Body in an AGM/EGM.
Documents* Required for Membership include
MFIN’s Application Form, duly filled
Audited Financials
Memorandum and Articles of Association
RBI Registration Certificate
Copy of Board resolution for MFIN membership and adoption of Industry Code of Conduct
Copy of RBI inspection report, if any
Sample Loan Cards
Self-certification that the Company is in full compliance with RBI and other regulatory norms and guidelines
*Note: After receiving the above documentation, a due diligence will be done by MFIN staff. Following this the Board approves the membership, and the applicant organisation will be required to pay the annual subscription fee. Membership will become effective only after payment of full fee.
Submission of Application and Payment
A new applicant for membership is required to pay a sum of Rs. 1,01,000 (One Lakh One Thousand Only) including the one-time Application Fee of Rs 1,000 and the initial Membership Fee of Rs 1,00,000. The Annual Subscription is to be paid upon approval of membership.
The cheque/draft is to be drawn in the favour of ‘Micro Finance Institutions Network’ payable at Gurgaon, Haryana.
The duly completed Application Form along with fees and other supporting documents should be sent to:
MicroFinance Institutions Network
4003-4004, EMAAR Palm Spring Plaza,
Near Sector 53-54 Rapid Metro Station,
Golf Course Road,
Gurgaon 122002, Haryana
In-case of any support and queries, kindly contact:
An XLRI postgraduate with an experience of over 19 years in varied sectors of Banking, Logistics and Microfinance, Devesh co-founded Fusion Microfinance in 2010. Under his leadership, Fusion has grown to a client base of 1.85 MN clients with a portfolio size of 3,600 Cr across 18 states of India. Devesh’s long term vision and executing strategy is validated by the marquee PE firm Warbug Pincus’s decision to choose Fusion to make its first investment in the Indian Microfinance arena in 2018. His unwavering conviction on upholding organizational value system has enabled Fusion to strive despite of volatile and turbulent environment which sector has faced intermittently over the last one decade.
Devesh has served various Boards since 2008 including being elected as Vice President of MFIN in 2017. He has represented the sector in diverse forums and platforms to create a healthy and positive outlook. He got awarded as the ‘50 Fastest Growing CEOs of India’ by ‘The CEO Magazine’ in 2018. He is a strong advocate of agile transformation and digital innovation for employee centric seamless operations which made Fusion the “Best Workplaces in MFI” in its debut year of GPTW certification with 66th position in top 100 workplaces in India.”
Lenders & Investors Meet
Lenders & Investors Meet
MFIN has been continuously taking several steps to build investors’ confidence within the sector and facilitate equity investment for MFIs (both Debt & Equity). The Lenders & Investors Meet, which MFIN organizes every year, is one such endeavour to connect the MFIs with lenders & investors and built a mutual relationship for a better understanding of different institutions operating within the sector. In 2019, MFIN organised the seventh ‘Lenders and Investors Meet’ in New Delhi on 4th December in association with Access Assist at their ‘Inclusive Finance Summit’. The Meet was structured to facilitate one-to-one discussions providing a platform for the Member MFIs, Lenders and Investors to interact, with a focus on small and medium sized MFIs (portfolios below Rs 500 Cr). A total of 54 meetings was organised.
MFIN in association with Uttar Pradesh Microfinance Association (UPMA) - a state level association of microfinance institutions in UP organized a special interface event ‘Strengthening Financial Inclusion: Role of Microfinance’ on 13th February 2019 in Lucknow. The session was organized with an aim to sensitize about the operational model of regulated microfinance providers. The event was presided over by DG (EoW) and senior officers from the police department including ADGP (EoW), representatives from NABARD, SIDBI, SFBs, NBFC-MFIs, NBFCs etc
The second State-level Police Interface was organised in Patna on 25th February. The conclave was
presided over by Director General of Police, Ex-DGP, ADGP (EOU), SP (EOU) amongst others.
RBI’s Depositor Education Workshops
RBI’s Depositor Education Workshops
RBI entrusted MFIN with the task of conducting 2250 workshops to educate the depositors on the various financial aspects
of banking under the aegis of its Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund Cell. The project comprised of three phases (i) Pilot, (ii) Training of Trainers (ToTs) and (iii) Delivery of workshops in selected districts by various partner MFIs of MFIN.
Based on the Pilot experience, MFIN successfully conducted the 8 Training of Trainers (TOTs) of partner MFIs in 8 TOTs in Patna, Mumbai, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, New Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata & Ranchi where 230 trainers of 41 MFIs were trained as master trainers.
The final stage of executing 2,250 workshops involves an agreement with 40 Members that will commence soon.
CGRM Highlights
Mr. Manoj Kumar Nambiar
Chairperson/MD Arohan Financial Services Ltd
An XLRI postgraduate with an experience of over 19 years in varied sectors of Banking, Logistics and Microfinance, Devesh co-founded Fusion Microfinance in 2010. Under his leadership, Fusion has grown to a client base of 1.85 MN clients with a portfolio size of 3,600 Cr across 18 states of India. Devesh’s long term vision and executing strategy is validated by the marquee PE firm Warbug Pincus’s decision to choose Fusion to make its first investment in the Indian Microfinance arena in 2018. His unwavering conviction on upholding organizational value system has enabled Fusion to strive despite of volatile and turbulent environment which sector has faced intermittently over the last one decade.
Devesh has served various Boards since 2008 including being elected as Vice President of MFIN in 2017. He has represented the sector in diverse forums and platforms to create a healthy and positive outlook. He got awarded as the ‘50 Fastest Growing CEOs of India’ by ‘The CEO Magazine’ in 2018. He is a strong advocate of agile transformation and digital innovation for employee centric seamless operations which made Fusion the “Best Workplaces in MFI” in its debut year of GPTW certification with 66th position in top 100 workplaces in India.”
MFIN strives to create a favourable environment for the industry to deliver microfinance services with ease. To do this, MFIN invests in building strong relationships with all its stakeholders to ensure that the contribution of microfinance in the national agenda of financial inclusion is well established.
MFIN has established Task Forces for focused action on specific areas of activities that, from an overall industry standpoint, are deemed critical. The Task Forces comprise of representatives of member institutions who help drive specific initiatives with the support of the MFIN Secretariat.
The Advocacy & PR Task Force is responsible for steering and guiding the advocacy agenda within MFIN. The Task Force engages with key policy makers and sector participants to create a conducive policy and business environment for the industry. MFIN engages with the key stakeholders of the microfinance industry including Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA), Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). MFIN is also a part of various think tanks and discussion forums including the RBI’s Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee, the MUDRA Board, PSIG Think Tank, and the Access Assist Advisory Group.
National Level Advocacy
Dr Alok Misra speaking in a close-door Roundtable on ‘Bridging the Gap: Banks and NBFC’ organised by Council for International Economic Understanding.
MFIN representing the sector at the Meeting of the Finance Minister with Private Sector Banks and Financial
Institutions, organized by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
CEO & Director, MFIN with Former Vice-Chairperson - NITI Aayog.
MFIN representing the sector at the Meeting of the Finance Minister with Private Sector Banks and Financial
Institutions, organized by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
MFIN’s objective of creating an enabling ecosystem is met by the team’s active engagement with State Governments which is driven by the Task Force on State Initiatives where MFIN engages with diverse set of external stakeholders at the regional, state, district level ranging from Law Makers, Bureaucracy, Administration, Law and Order, Regulators, Inter Institutional Formal structures to create a positive understanding of mission, objective, implementation and impact of microfinance.
To further strengthen the microfinance universe and leverage from the combined learnings of various organizations in the sector, MFIN closely works with Associations and Forums in the space.
South Asian Micro Entrepreneurs Network (SAMN) is a regional network aiming at enhancing capacity, financing, and regional dialogue in the microfinance sector of South Asia. It is represented by leading apex institutions from the countries of the region along with the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED). Current SAMN Members include Afghanistan Microfinance Association (AMA), Credit Development Forum (CDF), Bangladesh, Centre for Microfinance (CMF), Nepal, Lanka Microfinance Practitioner’s Association (LMFPA), Sri Lanka, Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) and Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) in India.
MFIN has a long-standing association with SAMN where together they have organised the SAMN Conclave, a platform that has, over the years, brought together various practitioners, policy makers and relevant stakeholders to brainstorm policy issues and exchange best practices. The Secretariat has curated customised research papers on Client Protection, Credit Bureaus etc.
Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank (MUDRA) and the Governing Council of BFSI Sector Skill Council of India: MFIN CEO is currently on the Board of MUDRA & BFSI Sector Skill Council of India, engaging and steering support towards developments within the microfinance industry.
Sa-Dhan: MFIN enjoys a strong relationship with Sa-Dhan, also an SRO. Both the industry associations have been collaborating and putting their combined learning and efforts into crisis management, exemplified in their joint working during field stress in Assam and Covid 2019.
The third edition of Code of Conduct and the Code for Responsible Lending was jointly revised and released during the Sa-Dhan National Conference held in September 2019.
Access Assist Development Services: MFIN has collaborated with Access Assist over the years by associating with the Inclusive Finance Summit. The Secretariat has been assisting Access in providing support services, knowledge resources and interaction across various forums to ensure that the contribution of microfinance within financial inclusion is well established.
Latest SAMN Newsletter
Muhammad Yunus for SAMN Conclave 2016
Employee Bureau
The micro-credit industry prides itself on creating employment for more than 2 lac youth to reach out to its base of 6.1 Cr customers. The Employee Bureau serves as a database of non-financial information of these employees and plays an important role in streamlining recruitment processes at MFIs, minimizing hiring costs as well as highlighting incorrect information/frauds.
MFIN and Equifax jointly created and launched Employee Bureau in 2017 to address the various manpower issues faced by the industry. To catalyse the existing efforts and post wide consultations with Members, in 2019 MFIN mandated members to sign-up with the Employee Bureau by submitting data.
Today, employee data from MFIN Members and Associates forms a substantial part of the Employee Bureau database and contributes towards the development of the lending ecosystem.
As of October 31, 2022
Overall
MFIN Members and Associates
Number of institutions signed up
179
86
Number of employees registered
18,20,875
7,46,288
Number of queries raised from Oct’21 – Oct’22
5,04,408
3,32,747
% Match from Oct’21 – Oct’22
23%
30%
Growth in Enquiries as on 2021-2022 vs 2020-2021
65%
86%
Credit Bureau Ecosystem
By 2010 as microfinance industry in India began to scale-up and a few localized episodes of defaults, ghost lending, concentration and high leverage emerged, the need for a credit bureau ecosystem was evident. However, the poor-quality identification documents and personal information, absence of foolproof national ID, non-standard data collection by lenders and lack of interest from a credit bureau in the low-income market posed immense challenges in creating such a credit bureau. Fortunately, the period coincided with RBI licensing three new Credit Information Companies (CICs) and micro-credit industry under MFIN immediately capitalized on this development.
MFIN facilitated the formation of the first credit bureau focused on low-income markets (Crif HighMark). Shortly afterwards, Equifax also entered the space fostering innovations and competition.
The credit bureau activities of MFIN aimed at: broadening coverage of the Credit Bureaus, raising awareness about the credit bureau and improving the credit bureau data quality. In addition to encouraging a larger number of MFIs to join the Credit Bureau initiative, MFIN monitors the credit bureau compliance across its membership and ensures that data is shared by members.
MFIN has also been engaging with the regulator to widen the scope of credit bureaus and necessary changes for robust and comprehensive credit bureau ecosystem such as mandatory use of credit bureau report for lending, on-boarding of data from SHGs, data parity amongst all CICs and a comprehensive Credit Information Report.
MFIN is in constant engagement with the media at the national, state and district level to build a positive and informed perception about theindustry with a focus on the sector’simage, dispelling common myths around thenature of the business and emphasising the role ofthe sector in achieving financial inclusion. MFIN also attempts to establish how microfinance has helped build scale and meet the needs of the unserved population of India besides promoting an entrepreneurial mindset among micro-enterprises.