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Doing microfinance well

Ross Dawson, February 22, 2006 12:11 PM US PT

Following on from my story from last November, Microcredit gains momentum, the leading Indian microfinance institution SKS India has launched a great new website, driven by Chris Turillo, who is in Hyderabad after acting as business development manager for my US partner organization Business Development Institute. The website provides details on the lending methodology SKS India uses, which is based on the community joint liability model originally developed by Grameen Bank. It describes how they select villages, form sangyam (centers) and do financial transactions. In addition it has case studies that help to bring the microfinance concept to life. SKS India has lent to over 150,000 women clients in some of the poorest parts of India, and aims to reach 1,000,000 clients by 2010. It is important to recognize that this is a financial institution, onlending from banks such as ABN AMRO, Citibank, and HSBC, yet using models that allow cost-effective, high repayment small loans that help lift people out of poverty.

Ross Dawson is globally recognized as a leading futurist, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, strategy advisor, and bestselling author. He is Founding Chairman of four companies: professional services and venture firm Advanced Human Technologies, future and strategy consulting group Future Exploration Network, leading events firm The Insight Exchange, and influence ratings start-up Repyoot.

Ross is author most recently of Implementing Enterprise 2.0, the prescient Living Networks, which anticipated the social network revolution, and the Amazon.com bestseller Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships (click on the links for free chapter downloads). He is based in Sydney and San Francisco with his wife jewellery designer Victoria Buckley and two beautiful young daughters.