Reaching the Poor with Microfinance: A Case of Rural South India

Think India ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Vidya Rajaram Iyer ◽  
Jivraj Patki
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
South India ◽  
National Goal ◽  
Rural South ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Middle Class People ◽  
Contribution Level

Microfinance has been recognized as one of the important instruments to meet the financial requirements of the low income customers or commonality lending groups including consumers and self-employed personnel, who lack access to banking and other related financial services (Mehta, 2008). Scheduled banks are not able to penetrate the rural prospective customers and usually are not keen in giving small loans to low-income families without security. Microfinance is one of the financial institutions that work towards achieving the national goal of ‘financial inclusion. The purpose of this paper is to explore the scope of micro finance firm in rural South India and understand various financial requirements of poor and middle class people residing in villages and their profit and contribution level of the businesses.

scholarly journals The Nexus between Mobile Money Regulation, Innovative Technology and the Promotion of Financial Inclusion in Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira ◽  
Elfas Torerai
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Mobile Money ◽  
The Poor

The advent of mobile money innovations has given people in rural areas, informal settlements and other poor communities an opportunity to participate in Zimbabwe's mainstream financial economy. However, the technology-driven money services have presented some challenges to the traditional banking sector in general and the regulation of financial services in particular. Firstly, most mobile money services are products of telecommunication corporations, which are not banks. Telecommunication companies use their network reach to provide mobile money services via mobile devices at a cheaper cost than banks across the country in Zimbabwe. As such, banks face unprecedented competition from telecommunications companies that are venturing into financial services. It also appears that prudential regulation of banks cannot keep up with the fast pace at which technological innovations are developing and this has created a disjuncture between the regulation and the use of technological innovations to promote financial inclusion in Zimbabwe. The Banking Act [Chapter 24:20] 9 of 1999, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 22:15] 5 of 1999 and the National Payment Systems Act [Chapter 24:23] 21 of 2001 have a limited scope in terms of the regulation of mobile money services in Zimbabwe. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2016-2020 to provide impetus to the financial inclusion of the poor, unbanked and low-income earners in Zimbabwe. However, the NFIS appears to push more for bank-led financial inclusion than it does for innovation-driven initiatives such as mobile money services. This article highlights the positive influence of mobile money services in improving financial inclusion for the poor, unbanked and low-income earners in Zimbabwe. The article also seeks to point out gaps and flaws in the financial services regulatory framework that may limit the potential of mobile money services to reach more people so that they actively participate in the Zimbabwean economy. It is submitted that the Zimbabwean mobile money services regulations and the financial regulatory framework should be carefully amended in line with the recent innovations in mobile money to adequately regulate the use of mobile money services and innovative technology to address the financial exclusion of the poor, unbanked and low-income earners in Zimbabwe.

scholarly journals INTEREST FREE MICROFINANCE: A GATEWAY OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION FOR KERALA

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4SE) ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Fazal Muhammed
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Poor

Microfinance is a powerful poverty alleviation tool. It implies provision of financial services to poor and low-income people whose low economic standing excludes them from formal financial systems. Access to services such as, credit, venture capital, savings, insurance, remittance is provided on a micro-scale enabling participation of those with severely limited financial means. The provision of financial services to the poor helps to increase household income and economic security, build assets and reduce vulnerability; creates demand for other goods and services; and stimulates local economies. A large number of studies on poverty however, indicate that exclusion of the poor from the financial system is a major factor contributing to their inability to participate in the development process. In a typical developing economy the formal financial system serves no more than twenty to thirty percent of the population. The vast majority of those who are excluded are poor.

scholarly journals Why do financial inclusion policies fail in mobilizing savings from the poor? Lessons from rural south India

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. O201-O219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jann Goedecke ◽  
Isabelle Guérin ◽  
Bert D'Espallier ◽  
Govindan Venkatasubramanian
Keyword(s):  
South India ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Rural South ◽  
The Poor

scholarly journals Evaluating the Impact of Microfinance for Women in Albania

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Oltiana Muharremi ◽  
Filloreta Madani ◽  
Erald Pelari
Keyword(s):  
Social Influence ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Micro Enterprises

<p class="Default"><em>Microfinance is defined as any activity involving the offering of financial services such as loans, savings and insurance to individuals with low income.</em><em> </em><em>Creating social value includes reducing poverty and having a better impact to improve living conditions through capital for micro-enterprises; insurance and savings deposits for reducing risk and boosting consumption. Worldwide microfinance actors promote access to basic financial services by developing new tools, a variety of products and the adoption of an integrated banking access.</em></p><p class="Default"><em>Initially, microfinance was largely gender neutral: it sought to provide credit to the poor who had no assets to pledge as collateral. It quickly emerged, however, that women invested their business profits in ways that would have a longer-lasting impact on their families and communities. Consequently women became fundamental to the success of the microfinance model as a poverty alleviation tool. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of microfinance loans in improving the lives of women borrowers, as well as in strengthening their social influence and the microcredit impact in promoting savings. This study is based on an empirical investigation of 384 structured questionnaires and surveys directed at microfinance institutions and their clients in the regions of Vlore and Fier, Albania.</em></p>

Do the Poor Pay More?

1968 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles S. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Small Neighborhood ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Price Differences ◽  
Purchasing Patterns

Are low-income families victims of high prices in small neighborhood stores? This article goes beyond asking what prices small stores charge and examines the purchasing patterns of low-income families. What kind of stores do they patronize? Why? Do they use the convenience stores in the low-income areas? Do many buy food on credit? How well do they perceive price differences among stores? These are some of the questions answered through a survey in a Philadelphia redevelopment area.

Background, Inception, and Development

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Gao
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Central Regulation ◽  
Means Testing ◽  
Local Implementation ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Low Income Families

Chapter 2 tracks the background, inception, and development stages of Dibao. Dibao has undergone significant expansions and has impacted the lives of millions of low-income families. The chapter shows that, throughout its development, Dibao has been shaped by economic and political forces and has remained true to its dual functions of serving as a safety net to the poor and maintaining social control and political stability. A constant struggle in Dibao has been addressing the fundamental questions of how to conduct means testing, and how to determine benefits eligibility most effectively and achieve the program’s intended goal of serving as a safety net for the truly poor. Such challenges are embedded in Dibao’s dilemma between central regulation and local implementation and will continue in its future development.

scholarly journals The Poor Pay More: Consumer Practices of Low-Income Families.

1964 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 568
Author(s):  
Richard A. Peterson ◽  
David Caplovitz
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Low Income Families

scholarly journals Legislative and Other Selected Challenges Affecting Financial Inclusion for the Poor and Low Income Earners in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-355
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira ◽  
Menelisi Ncube
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Banking System ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Financial Exclusion ◽  
Relevant Role ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
The Government

AbstractThis article discusses the challenges affecting the achievement of financial inclusion for the poor and low-income earners in South Africa. The concept of financial inclusion could be defined as the provision of affordable financial products and services to all members of the society by the government and/or other relevant role-players such as financial services providers. This article identifies unemployment, poverty, financial illiteracy, over-indebtedness, high bank fees, mistrust of the banking system, lack of relevant national identity documentation and poor legislative framework for financial inclusion as some of the challenges affecting the full attainment of financial inclusion for the poor and low-income earners in South Africa. Given these flaws, the article highlights the need for the government, financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders to adopt legislative and other measures as an antidote to financial exclusion and poverty challenges affecting the poor and low-income earners in South Africa.

scholarly journals A Legal Analysis of the Use of Innovative Technology in the Promotion of Financial Inclusion for Low-Income Earners in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira ◽  
Phemelo Magau
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Financial Exclusion ◽  
The Government

The promotion of financial inclusion is important for the combating of financial exclusion in many countries, including South Africa. Nonetheless, most low-income earners living in rural areas and informal settlements are still struggling to gain access to basic financial products and financial services in South Africa. This status quo has been caused by a number of factors such as the absence of an adequate financial inclusion policy, the geographical remoteness of financial institutions to most low-income earners, rigid identity documentary requirements, a lack of access to reliable and affordable Internet connection by low-income earners living in informal settlements and rural areas, a lack of financial illiteracy, the high costs of financial services, unemployment and poverty, over-indebtedness, and cultural and psychological hindrances to low-income earners in South Africa. Consequently, these factors have somewhat limited the access to financial services offered by financial institutions to low-income earners living in rural areas and informal settlements. In many countries, including South Africa, the financial sector is relying on innovative technology, especially in banking institutions, to aid in the offering of financial services to their customers. It is against this background that this article discusses selected legal and related challenges affecting the regulation and use of innovative technology to promote financial inclusion for low-income earners in South Africa. The article further discusses possible measures that could be adopted by the government, financial institutions and other relevant regulatory bodies to promote the use of innovative technology to combat the financial exclusion of low-income earners in South Africa.

scholarly journals Issues and Challenges of Financial Inclusion Among Low-Income Earners In Rural Areas of Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 277-299
Author(s):  
Salihah Sharizan ◽  
Nur Harena Redzuan ◽  
Romzie Rosman
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Finance Industry

Financial inclusion (FI) appears to be one of the main global agendas as it is an essential way of reducing poverty and increasing the economic growth of a country. FI is the provision of financial services to all segments of society in a more convenient, quality, and affordable way. In this study, the authors analyzed the issues and challenges faced from the two perspectives of the Financial Institutions (FIs) and the rural B40 group concerning the way of pursuing the exclusive of FI. Primary data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with four expert bankers from the Financial Institutions (FIs) in Kuala Rompin, Pahang, and two representatives from the B40 customers in the rural areas of Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia. Based on the findings, barriers faced by the supply sides of the FIs include 1) high risk of cost and security, 2) barriers in communication and lack of financial education, and 3) lack of proof documents. The other challenges are 1) competition with the conventional institutions, 2) default risk due to non-payment, and 3) internet connection problem. On the demand side, the issues and challenges found include 1) lack of confidence, 2) lack of proof documents, 3) misuse of capital, and 4) lack of financial literacy. Henceforth, the findings have significant implications for the Islamic banking and finance industry in exploring the current barriers faced in delivering financial inclusion to the lower segment of the society in Malaysia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document