Microfinance: The road to opportunity

Out Of Focus

 Ashoka: Innovators for the public, is a citizen sector organisation working in 45 countries to build and brand social entrepreneurs through their fellowship programme.

 They have over the last decade, supported a dozen entrepreneurs in South Asia who have given an innovative twist to the various models that exist in microfinance and adapt it to the region. What Ashoka endeavours to do is to work as a catalyst in forging partnerships between individual change makers and institutions.

 On the 26th of last month, Ashoka brought together, in Kolkata, microfinance entrepreneurs from India and Bangladesh and institutional representatives from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and the banks.

 ICICI Bank represented by social initiative poster boy Nachiket Mor, executive director, is clearly emerging as a major player in this sector. (The Ashoka initiative was funded by ICICI Bank).

 Microfinance practitioners vary in their views on ICICI