The Hindu Business Line : Now, small entrepreneurs can bank on micro-credit

The sway of MFIs in the development debate touched a new high last month when the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, proposed a large initiative with its G-8 partners during the summit in Sea Island, the US, to develop micro-financing into a promising tool, honed considerably for use in the fight against poverty.

Championing this new initiative is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Paris, PlaNet Finance, which has a modest budget of close to 5 million euros. Its Chairman, Dr Jacques Attali, was in the Capital on Tuesday and met the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, with a host of leading micro-finance organisations in India, including the Chairman of Infosys, Mr Nandan Nilekani (Akshara Foundation).

Dr Attali told Business Line that the objective of his mission to India is to garner the support of MFIs to realise the goal of increasing the extant 60 million to 70 million households benefiting from MFIs to 200 million in seven years.

He said by building capacity to deliver quality micro-credit through the conscious use of new technology, such as information technology, MFIs would bring down the usually high cost of transaction in the delivery of micro-credit.

Dr Attali said that while the world suffers more than ever from poverty and the violence that is its result, a multitude of anonymous efforts do succeed in helping millions escape extreme poverty by providing them with the means to benefit from their talents.

Further, he said G-8 countries would launch pilot projects to increase the number, scale and effectiveness of MFIs in select countries, with the key objective of "reducing barriers for growing MFIs to gain access to domestic and international capital markets, besides encouraging the establishment and expansion of self-sustaining micro-finance investment funds."

Dr Attali said that through a concerted and collaborative effort by all stakeholders, micro-credit could assume an even larger role in the global strategy to meet the international pledge of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the promise to cut poverty in half by 2015.

Said the PlanNet Finance National Coordinator, Mr Shivendra Sharma, in order to contribute more efficiently to the MDGs and the UN General Assembly marking 2005 as the International Year of Micro-Credit, PlanNet Finance India has proposed two committees. These are the Indian committee for the year of micro-finance,Voice of India, and the Indian Combine for the World Summit on Information Technology, which will be held in Tunis, Tunisia, in November 2005. Voice of India will promote micro-finance and IT solutions for development while the Indian Combine will undertake a study of information, communication and technology (ICT) for development initiatives in India and prepare an operational action plan.

Mr Sharma said so far, PlaNet Finance India has been supporting MFIs in Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharasthra. For its 2004-05 operations, the organisation has resolved to focus on eastern and north-eastern States. PlaNet Finance India is closely working with 75 MFIs in India, Nepal and Pakistan and provides capacity building support in ICT micro-finance, technology skills and equipment transfer, besides developing Web sites and resource portal for South Asian MFIs.

More Stories on : SSI | Rural Development

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page